"Big Brother is watching you"
So this novel was one that I focused on for my dissertation in my last year of University, along-side The Handmaid's Tale. We'll begin with looking at how this novel correlates to today's society and the world we live in now. A big, unanswered question I had while writing my dissertation was 'Are writers predicting our future?'.
The story is set in 1984, 36 years after it was written. We are in a post-war London, part of a nation called Oceania, under rule of a government called The Party. Their leader is a public figure, Big Brother.
It is unclear if Big Brother is an actual person, however, this is irrelevant as even if he isn't, Big Brother creates just as much fear in the public as he would if he were real. Some readers may notice many similarities to a certain president; members of The Party participate in what is called the Two Minute Hate, where they yell hate at a telescreen aimed at the traitors of Big Brother. Not dissimilar to Donald Trump's twitter feed, spewing hate towards those he considers traitors to America. The Party have various departments, all controlling how The Party is seen by the people. Our protagonist, Winston Smith, works for The Party in the Ministry of Truth, altering historical facts about The Party to ensure the public are loyal and believe everything.
Everything Winston does is controlled, from his work life to his home life, even his vices, such as smoking and drinking, are regulated. The Party watch everyone in their homes through telescreens, those who do not follow the rules of The Party are 'vaporized'. There is word that a resistance party exist and Winston develops a desire to find them, escaping the clutches of The Party and the watchful eye of Big Brother.
I won't spoil much but along the story-line, Winston "falls for" a woman named Julia, who also works for The Party. Because she is thought to be the office floozy, and sex and love for anyone other than the government is forbidden, Winston is drawn to her, believing that perhaps she too wishes to escape The Party. The ending of this novel has caused much contradiction as many people remain confused by its conclusion.
[Spoilers Ahead]
What many readers want from this novel is a happy ending. However, Orwell refuses his readers this as nothing is resolved. The protagonist remains unhappy and alone in this restricted world, which may cause readers to think "Well that was a rubbish ending!"
To some extent, I agree. Loads of readers wanted Winston and Julia to end up together, and run away living happily ever after. Who wouldn't want to have The Party diminished and all the people to be free to think for themselves? But that is not what we are given.
Despite his efforts to escape the cruel world that is Oceania, Winston and Julia end up being arrested by the police and taken into separate rooms for questioning and torture. Winston starts off strong, telling Julia not to tell them anything, yet as he is threatened with getting his face torn off in exchange for his renouncement of his former actions and betrayal of Julia, he claims that he would rather them do it to her (men...). At the end, they walk past each other, indifferent towards one another, suggesting that Winston's betrayal has ended whatever relationship they had. The book ends with "he had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother" and it's almost as if the whole book never happened.
As if Winston's mind has been reset and he is now back to being a devoted party member.
I won't rate this novel as it is a classic, and partly because I read it from an academic perspective rather than as a big fan of Orwell. What I will say is that this book may be a bit hard for readers in the 21st century to chew due to its controversial events, and perhaps because these controversial events are so similar to what we are living right now. This book shouldn't be approached with caution but do keep in mind that this was written nearly 75 years ago. But hey...it's a classic, it's worth a read!
Buy the book here!
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