George Orwell's novel "1984" is certainly one of the seminal works of the twentieth century. As such, "1984" has been the
subject of much
literary criticism. This criticism has identified certain main themes in the novel. One main theme of "1984" is
totalitarianism, although critics disagree about whether the book is modeled after past totalitarian societies, is a theory of totalitarianism, or both. Another major strain of critical thought is that "1984" is an anti-Enlightenment novel. Thie essay reviews seven literary critics' interpretations of the theme of "1984". All seven writers identify the main themes as one of the two main themes mentioned above.