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“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
1984 by George Orwell delivers a striking start and a thought-provoking conclusion, leaving readers with a lingering sense of unease. After enjoying Orwell’s Animal Farm, I was eager to dive into 1984, widely regarded as one of the top dystopian classics.
Written in the late 1940s, 1984 presents a chilling portrayal of a totalitarian regime where every aspect of life is controlled. In Orwell’s dystopian world, society is divided into three superstates: Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia, constantly at war with each other.
In Oceania, Big Brother watches over everyone, ensuring total compliance with the Party’s oppressive laws. The regime manipulates reality by altering history, controlling information, and crushing any form of individual thought or rebellion. Even personal relationships are policed, with marriage reduced to a means of procreation devoid of any physical pleasure.
The message from Big Brother is clear: censorship and brainwashing are tools of ultimate control.
Winston Smith, the protagonist, lives in a dystopian world where he is constantly monitored by telescreens. He works at the Ministry of Truth, tasked with altering historical records to ensure that the Party appears infallible. His job involves rewriting the past to align with the Party's narrative, erasing any evidence of contradiction, so society always perceives progress and finds justification for the Party’s actions.
As the story progresses, Winston begins to question the Party, leading him down a dangerous path of rebellion. The suspense builds as Orwell introduces a world where even a stray thought against the Party is detectable. From screens capable of monitoring physical and emotional responses, to the brainwashing of children at "spy schools" trained to denounce any dissident behaviour, and the Thought Police always watching, Orwell crafts a terrifying vision of total control.
The book masterfully captures the existential fear of living under constant surveillance and control. The parallels between this fictional world and real-life authoritarian regimes, such as present-day North Korea, make the book even more unsettling. Orwell’s foresight is remarkable, and the plausibility of his dystopian vision makes 1984 all the more terrifying.
This is definitely a book I can see myself re-reading.
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