My little review of 1984 by George Orwell
As I attempt to hurdle over my short attention span & address 1984, again in my mid-life I find myself quite naturally soaking in all of the dreary yet tense atmosphere throughout the novel. Unavoidably approaching it as a Gen X-er, one could not escape the references to 1984 throughout my life as we delve further into a world of homogeneity & behavioural tracing & tracking through technology and through this, one could forever place ourselves parallel to Orwell’s uncanny ability to foresee what would become of us. I won’t dwell on those issues which seem obvious and apparent but merely comment on what stood out to me and we’ll see what might resemble or not.
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- Thought police: whereby through watching a proletariat’s (citizen worker of a totalitarian system) behaviour that one could tell if they were loyal or not to Big Brother.
- Newspeak: an entire new way language which dumbed down entire societies by reversing word etymology and creating edition upon edition of Newspeak dictionary. This was used to deliberately change and control the method in which people could communicate with each other over just a few decades.
- Combining continents: by reducing borders between countries and continents until there are only three. Information is falsified by various forms of ‘news’ that in fact nobody really knows which continent is at war with which and who is the enemy and who is not. In so doing Orwell demonstrates how easy it is to instil distrust between factions, playing on fear.
Before I go any further, I think it needs to be said that ironically one of the first ‘Reality’ TV shows: Big Brother, which became popular ‘fly on the wall’ viewing has in fact, been bastardised to the point that it lost the original meaning. What is funny about the TV show is the viewer is watching rather flamboyant, extroverts trying to compete to be the most loved and to win a great prize. Big Brother, in 1984, is demands certain behaviours to become a submissive follower. Inability to do so will be deemed a Thought Crime by thte Thought Police and will be punished. Homogeneity is manipulated in as much as the player in the TV series attempts to make themselves standout the most and therefore participate in showing off and forcing themselves into awkward situations. In 1984 the only time excessive behaviour happens is when we see Winston Smith join other Proles at the cinema to watch short propaganda films which are intended to bring shame to individuals and to incite hatred for those against Big Brother.
What is interesting, is to be alongside Winston Smith’s
thoughts as a sympathiser and try to work out (as he distrusts everyone), who
is watching him and his thoughts. We realise how severe the act of having own
thoughts is when we learn that he considers himself being watched for his facial
movements to give away what he is thinking. Right at the beginning though we know
very little until he writes down his thoughts, which it seems, he is also
unaware of until the point pen reaches paper. Small relief is given when he can
hide these thoughts as he as an angle of space he can hide from the cameras. The
reader can relate as society’s eyes are everywhere, especially in small towns,
with social media prevalent. The only other space that is private is an open meadow, away from cameras or watching eyes.
When Winston hires an apartment from a diddly old man,
the reader finds themselves in a transitional point whereby sex can take place
but there be no repercussions. As if everything we read at this point
is pending.
Julia, Winston’s sex partner, is a character I had trouble
connecting with. I found her to be a heroine of sorts, or rather wanted her to
be. She seemed brave and rebellious but there was still something missing. It
was pointed out [should put quote in here] that she didn’t have the same level of
thought, although she was the instigator and influencer in Winston’s coming out. While I enjoyed
what she brought to the story, I nevertheless was disappointed by her to some
degree and she disappeared quicker than she appeared. I don’t know if this was
a tactic that Orwell used in order to show that she wasn’t as driven as Winston
ideologically or if Orwell himself was from an era where he couldn’t
conceptualise an equal in female stature.
O’Brian was hard to read and frustratingly so as we
learn of his role. We still find Winston able to relate to him as he does
Winston, and that reasoning with him to the last moment was not impossible. The
nature of his conversational dictator made this reader second guess his motives
right to the end, but perhaps this was also intended.
The fact that there was a document to explain how the totalitarian existence had come about and how it was being used to re-wire an entire society still remains with me. Was it in fact, planted, in order to expose a potential rebel to the Thought Police?
In all, 1984 left me breathing shallow for a long while,
while my brain worked to make the connections where there perhaps were none. Leaving
me in as much distrust of the system as the protagonist felt right through his conscious
thought.