1984 by George Orwell

⛰ What It’s About

1984 follows the character Winston Smith as he navigates the dystopian world of Oceania, one of 3 superpowers now occupying the Earth. Winston gradually begins to rebel against the Party, an all powerful political party that controls everything through various principles like doublethink, crimestop, and the Thought Police. Eventually, Winston learns how the Party keeps its power indefinitely and plots to undermine it.

🔍 How I Discovered It

This book was often one of the options for book club projects in school and I never got around to reading it until recently. The book had always seemed interesting from what other people say and excerpts read for certain assignments. I had also previously read Animal Farm by George Orwell and enjoyed that as well.

🧠 Thoughts

I enjoyed Orwell’s prose in 1984, as it is often very descriptive, as well as how he imbued tension into the plot without a lot of cliffhangers. The book felt very natural to draw you in and read. Orwell’s political and social philosophy about class struggles and ruling people was very interesting. I also liked, but was startled by, the later part of the book where Winston’s reality is undermined, a very eerie relation to some of the current events with fake news and deep fake videos. In addition, I could see a lot of relations with the book and the current political climate.

I was a little sad when it was over because of how it ends, but nevertheless a really good book.

What I Liked About It

I liked Orwell’s way of creating a very philosophical book within a novel. The relevancy of Orwell’s writing 70 years after it was published is amazing. Although it was a period piece in the Cold War era, parts of the book are still apparent in politics today.

What I Didn’t Like About It

Sometimes during long stretches of Orwell’s commentary on politics in 1984, I kept wanting there to be a bit more of the story of Winston, keeping the plot moving more.

The ending is very eerie. I don’t know if I like it, but it was fitting.

🥰 Who Would Like It?

Anyone that likes dystopian fiction would like this book as well as anyone that likes philosophical novels.

📚 Related Books

Animal Farm, also written by George Orwell, is similar in its delivery of message. Based on genre and some aspects of the plot, I would also recommend reading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury if you liked 1984.

🔍 Notable Highlights

“Winston’s greatest pleasure in life was in his work. Most of it was a tedious routine, but included in it there were also jobs so difficult and intricate that you could lose yourself in them as in the depths of a mathematical problem”

“Everything faded into mist. The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth.”

“What mattered were individual relationships, and a completely helpless gesture, an embrace, a tear, a word spoken to a dying man, could have value in itself. The proles, it suddenly occurred to him, had remained in this condition. They were not loyal to a party or a country or an idea, they were loyal to one another.”

“The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labour. War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent.”

“If he were allowed contact with foreigners he would discover that they are creatures similar to himself and that most of what he has been told about them is lies. The sealed world in which he lives would be broken, and the fear, hatred, and self-righteousness on which his morale depends might evaporate.”

“In our society, those who have the best knowledge of what is happening are also those who are furthest from seeing the world as it is. In general, the greater the understanding, the greater the delusion; the more intelligent, the less sane.”