1984 (review)

[Redstar]

I spent a long weekend of over a week at my father's and took the liberty of grabbing a few books from his personal library. I chose to start with 1984 by George Orwell simply because it's a classic and the opportunity to read it, as well as other classics, never came up for me in high school. I felt I owed it to myself and the work to get to it. (The other books I took will be read and reviewed later)

Anyone that takes the time to get into this book will soon realize it's a very introspective piece. The main character, Winston Smith, is very much a thinker. He questions things. He questions why he questions those things. And that ultimately sets up his role as the perfect protagonist for the message Orwell wanted to convey.

Orwell presents a world remarkably different from our own that can seem strange and even impossible to some readers. It's very much a visit to Oz. But in this case Oz is real, and Oz is Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany, and the threat of more states being set up.

Many people may read the book and imagine it unlikely and absurd. They question how anything in the book could happen. It just seems so horrid, so inhuman. And that is the strong point of the book. Orwell was making a direct reference to Soviet Russia, to the gulags and inquisitions of the past and present that could very well continue. Oceania is an Oz you can't wake up from; a place where the reader is a Dorothy and the real world is no different from the fictional.

The direction of the novel I enjoyed the most was the simplicity of it all. There was no revolution. There was no valiant ending as an award for enduring hope. The story was simple in that it dealt with humans and the things humans go through in their lives. Winston goes to work. Winston bathes. Winston smokes a cigarette. Winston has an affair. It was all simple in its own way; a slice of life that ultimately carries much more than an epic battle would have. And in the context of the world Winston lives in, the very simplicity of his thoughts and actions are an epic battle against Oceania.

Winston himself is the story. A dystopia is nothing without people. A revolution is nothing without people. Showing a world and focusing exclusively on it is the fault of many works in this genre. '84, however, focuses on Winston and his desire to understand. His drive pushes the story along just as much as the world he's in pushes back. In the end he finally understands as well as he can: he accepts Oceania and Big Brother; he loves Big Brother.

The ending can be perceived as "unhappy". Winston submits to doublethink and the Party, his love for Julia is lost, and Oceania endures for quite possibly forever. I however found this to be the strongest part of the book. A "happy" ending would have destroyed the message; a revolution would have taken away from the characters and lessened the impact of their development. A happy ending would have given the role of revolution to the characters, when that role is meant for the readers. We are to prevent such a world from happening.

5 out of 5. It's satire, parody, and non-fiction all in one and done right.

(I apologize for this review. My thoughts have been jumbled lately so I found it hard to get my words right)

[SadisticCynic]

Good review, and I agree about the ending; much better this way.

[Sandwurm88]

I love the ending. It's ridiculously depressing. Awesome book, and one of my favorites of all time.

[GamePlayer]

Great review. One of the few books I loved in school. Must give this a re-read.