George Orwell gave his
novel the title he did for no other reason than that it was written in 1948 and he simply transposed the last two figures to give
1984. The novel is thus set at an indeterminate time in the
future when the
totalitarianism Orwell had seen in the world (Hitler, Stalin, Franco etc) had reached its logical conclusion.His is a nightmare vision where people are controlled and watched 24 hours a day. There is no place for love and family
loyalty as all love and loyalty is to be directed to the society’s ruler, Big Brother. There is no real friendship either as people exist only in relationship to the state. Individuals have comrades, not friends, and these comrades should be watched at all times to ensure their loyalty to Big Brother.The hero of the novel, an everyman by the name of Winston
Smith, becomes embroiled in a sexual relationship with one of his co-workers. Naturally, in such a society, the affair is discovered and Winston is arrested. He is subjected to nightmarish torture; his captors do not want simply to destroy him, they wish to cure him so that he becomes a loyal party member. The result of the torture leads to one of the most tragic endings seen in any novel as we witness the spiritually and emotionally crushed Winston Smith.George Orwell was a political writer and it is impossible to separate his
politics from his writing. This is a shame, however, as what is lost sight of is the fact that George Orwell was an incredible novelist and wordsmith in his own right. The language of 1984 is as sparse and unadorned as the society it describes. This simple directness leads to some very powerful writing that can be quite shocking to read. Phrases from the novel have become part of everyday speech; this is because they have the power to stay in the mind long after the novel is finished. The image of Big Brother watching everybody’s actions all of the time; the terror of Winston Smith as he faces his worst nightmare in Room 101; these, and many others, make for the highest levels of dramatic tension. 1984 is a novel that everyone interested in literature should read. It is a book which can lay serious claim to being the greatest novel of the twentieth century.
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