1984: the premonition of a visionary

Nineteen Eighty-Four is a dystopian vision by novelist George Orwell, published in 1949 and a recipient of international acclaim. Nineteen Eighty Four is an anti utopia; the book describes a future governed by a totalitarian government, which is also known as Ingsoc (short for English Socialism), which controls everyone’s thoughts and actions.

The novel is focused on Winston Smith, a seemingly ordinary man with a secret that could result in his death. Smith falls in love with a woman named Julia, with whom he begins a secret love affair. They meet often and discuss their oppressive government and their hopes of freeing themselves from it. Their love affair is absolutely illegitimate because the government does not allow recreational intercourse or engaging in dissent against the state. Their love is a splash of color set against the dull background of an ignorant and identical mass of people.

After Winston and Julia are discovered by the State, they are led to a place called the Ministry of Love where a man named O’Brien spends months brainwashing and torturing them. Julia and Winston betray each other in the end and let go of their love for each other. When Winston is released from the Ministry of Love, he has learned to love the State and Big Brother—the leader of Oceania.

1984 is a modern classic that demonstrates Orwell’s brilliance as well as his animosity towards totalitarian governments. Orwell’s characters are not perfect but he makes great use of them, and due to the fact that the protagonists become antagonists in the end, it is a thought-provoking book from a literary standpoint as well. In my opinion, George Orwell is using Nineteen Eighty-Four to warn the human race of a possible future where the world will fall under the rule of one totalitarian government. He warns us of the effects of complete power given to people or governments; and that this abuse of power may lead to a world where both thoughts and actions are controlled. Orwell’s cautionary tale, though set in the past, still gives us much to think about today.

“The fact that there are cameras and technology everywhere [today] is just like the book, and I think that it warns modern society…” comments Andy Zhou(9B). 

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