Everything is incongruity, irregularity, irony.
Nothing makes sense.
Book Review of 1984 (5/97)
One year before his death in 1950, George Orwell
published a book entitled 1984. Since then, the novel has
become a bible to people all over the world. The enthusiasm is not
only due to the fact that the novel is written so eloquently, and with
such foresight, but also because it makes a bold statement about humanity. 1984’s main character is Winston Smith,
a man who doubts the righteousness of the totalitarian government (Big
Brother) that rules Oceania, one of three superstates in the world of 1984.
We begin the book with Winston, and learn that Big Brother is quite fictional.
The government has developed its own language, is at constant war with
the other two superstates, and watches its citizens at all times.
As Winston’s rebellion progresses, we notice that Big Brother is not as
unrealistic as we think. Oceania, Eastasia, and Eurasia are the three
battling superstates. Each has an identical government—one that is
at perpetual war in order to gain complete power over its inhabitants.
The process used to gain absolute power is one used by past, present, and
future dictators, such as Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler. Big Brother
manipulates its citizens into convenient modes of thinking. However,
instead of only using propaganda techniques, Big Brother also uses Newspeak
and telescreens. Newspeak is the official language of Oceania, and
has its sole purpose in abolishing all unorthodox thought. (Example:
the word bad is replaced by the word ‘ungood.’) The telescreens monitor
each citizen that is allowed to be educated, at all times, watching for
any action, word, or possible thought that could be unorthodox. These two Orwell inventions were foretelling—we
see the equivalent of Newspeak every day in present day society when we
are "politically correct." Telescreens are present in nearly every
commercial institution, and sometimes in our own homes. Orwell was
obviously warning America and all other countries about the control of
totalitarian governments. When Winston is secretly approached by a coworker,
he learns that he is not alone in his belief that Big Brother is ‘ungood.’
Winston and Julia become lovers and eventually confess their feelings of
rebelliousness to O’Brien, a fellow coworker who is believed to be a member
of a rebel group, the Brotherhood. Two weeks later comes the shocking and disturbing
climax. It is here that the reader is definitely introduced to the
metaphysical philosophy behind 1984. Orwell brings terror
into the story when he shows us what is really behind Big Brother; Oceania’s
government sends a representative into the plot. A government not
unlike ones in present-day society is at the head of Oceania, and that
is where the stark reality of 1984 becomes evident. The sole
manipulative technique used by Big Brother is one that is virtually unrecognizable—mental
manipulation. Metaphysics, or the belief that there is existence
beyond our comprehension, is represented by Big Brother when the reader
learns about doublethink, the power of holding two contradictory beliefs
in one’s mind simultaneously and fully accepting both. Doublethink
and metaphysics are the engines behind the three world governments, and
is defined by O’Brien. "Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere
else," says O’Brien. " . . . In the mind of the Party, which is collective and
immortal. Whatever the Party holds to be truth is truth." Political tragedies, such as this, are published
constantly, but 1984 is one of the few that has remained timeless
and will always be regarded as not only historical, but also prophetic.
The book reminds us of what has gone wrong, what can go wrong, and what
will go wrong when government becomes all-powerful. It is because
of this political and social insight that 1984 is one of the best books of all time.
