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Written by the author George Orwell – the pseudonym of the English author Eric Arthur Blair – in 1948 and published a year later, the work is seen as the definitive nightmare prophesy of a totalitarian future in which the abuse of absolute power, the mass repression of humanity and the deletion of independent thought are so ingrained within the system that they go all but unquestioned by the subjugated populace.
The slightest deviation from mainstream thought...is punishable by death.
1984 is the world of Newspeak, Doublethink and the Thought Police, where every citizen is subjected to 24 hour surveillance and every conceivable aspect of a person’s life is dictated to them. The slightest deviation from mainstream thought, devotion to Big Brother or hatred of Goldstein, the leader of the resistance, is punishable by death. Winston Smith, the protagonist of the novel and a rebel railing silently against the indoctrinations of The Party, is presented as one of the few who see clearly the suffocating tyranny inflicted by the government.
The only faction whose freedom is assured is that of the proles (proletariat), the lower social caste who comprise the overwhelming majority of the population of Oceania but whom The Party view as all but inhuman and who lack the unity for any form of social uprising. This is where Winston sees the possibility of future redemption from tyranny, and together with Julia, another of the novel’s central characters, he begins a perilous attempt to join the infamous underground resistance.
The world in which they fight to remain undetected, however, is one of absolute control. Rule of the masses is achieved by The Party in a variety of ways, not least of which being the control of language. The concept that the restriction of language leads subsequently to a restriction of thought, that there can be no rebellion if there are no words with which to express dissatisfaction or discontent, is one explored in depth within the work and clearly reflects Orwell’s fascination with rhetoric’s potential to restrict and manipulate. The re-writing of history in order to collaborate with The Party’s conception of the present is another example of repression within the novel; allowing those in control to wield unconditional power over reality.
The notion that it is only ever the victors who write history taking this control to a whole new level. Similarly, the perpetual war in which Oceania (the community name) is engaged with the two other great world powers - Eurasia and Eastasia - is continued not with the intention of destroying the enemy but as a means of repressing the population and maintaining ultimate dominance. The unremitting surveillance, censorship and constant assurances of the truth of falsity and indoctrination from an early age – children being encouraged to report their own parents on suspicion of Thought Crime – all contribute to a world so scarred and mutilated by totalitarian leaders that everything exists as a paradox. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.
Ultimately this is a horrific, brutal novel of shocking and epic proportions, a dark and appalling caution about the future and a devastating satire on the abuse of power and free will. Outstandingly realized and beautifully composed, this novel is a work of genuine brilliance that is well deserving of the accolade it has been almost universally awarded.
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The re-writiing of history also raises the interesting debate over the question of an objectve or subjective reality, though its clear where Orwell stands on this (ob -though i disagree).
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