Big Brother is watching you 1984 written by George Orwell
Winston Smith and Julia had sex. For Julia it was another small rebellion against the government, an act she had done many times before as an expression of her individuality. For Winston it was the seeds for a grandiose plan to overthrow the government; to take action. In their society the government of Oceana acts as an overbearing parent who always watches, always listens. Televisions hear you just as you hear it and Big Brother is always watching you. Privacy is a thing if the past, a past Winston can't remember, but desperately desires. Through Winston’s interactions with Julia, his spirited new lover, as well as O'Brian, a possible like-minded rebel Winston's hope grows.
War is Peace
Freedom is slavery
Ignorance is strength
Winston lives in poverty along with most everyone else in a city with frequent bombing. The war with their invisible enemy has stretched across a forgotten number of years, but the hate remains through an intense anger session everyone must attend called the "two minutes hate". This book is George Orwell's warning against a Totalitarian government, when the government or “party” controls every aspect of life.
This society is just that. Not only are people's actions controlled, but so are their thoughts and beliefs. The strictness of these rules and regulations are enforced by the "thought police". The horrors of this life are reiterated over and over again.
The message Orwell expresses was loud and clear, and becomes more intense as the story develops. The reader sees examples of the ways the party controls people. For instance they begin inventing a language, “Newspeak”, that contains no words of rebellion. People are unable to have any room for their own thoughts because the party fills their minds up with propaganda and forces them to focus all their emotions on hatred for the enemy in the war. People aren’t allowed to have friends or fall in love, which makes Julia and Winston’s affair even more symbolic. The things I read about in this book were horrifying yet carried an element of believability that terrified me even more.
This book is probably one of the best examples of a dystopian society I have ever read. Through this fictional society the reader receives a warning that Orwell has immortalized through his writing. While this book is disturbing there are some glimmers of hope. It is shown how the party breaks down people and turns them into shells incapable of individual thoughts. How these scooped out people will soundly believe anything the government wishes them too, like 4+4=5. It is an abomination, what happens to these characters, but we see just how much people with strong wills can withstand. This book is uplifting and troubling, and a worthwhile read.
