George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four is a prophetic story of haunting accuracy. Published in 1949 just before his death, many fans of Orwell will agree that it is his best work. 1984 describes a dystopia so dysfunctional and malnourished each page will leave you hungry for more!
Nineteen Eighty-Four tells of a world in which only three nations remain - Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia. At any given time, two of these nations will be allied against the other, as they are constantly at war as a means of consuming produced good and maintaining a hyperactive level of patriotism among their respective citizens. It is a war which nobody will win nor lose, and therefore has no end in sight.
The audience follows the story of Winston Smith, a middle aged citizen of Oceania who suffers from a varicose ulcer on his leg and a tendency to drink gin throughout the day. He awakens each to day to the screech of the telescreen, a small television like device found virtually everywhere in Oceania. They are used to both monitor its people and to distribute propaganda and other rhetoric. Operating the telescreen, the thought police watch over everyone and, although there are no official laws in Oceania, if one is seen acting or speaking in an unorthodox manner they are likely to become a target of the thought police, who kidnap such 'thought criminals' in the middle of the night and subsequently destroy any remaining traces of their existence.
Winston's job at the Ministry of Truth is to rewrite newspapers, books, plays, magazines, and any other media which may mention a vaporized thought criminal or any other utterance which shines an unfavorable light on 'The Party' - the ruling class of Oceania, of which Winston is a member. Within the Party is the 'Inner Party' who are the elite, true rulers, and outside the Party, making up around eighty-five percent of Oceania's population, are the proles. Orwell's description of the class dynamic which exists in the realm of 1984 is exquisite and clearly very well thought out on every level.
When Winston comes across a unique looking diary in the prole district of his city, he can't resist it and makes an impromptu, unorthodox decision to purchase it and take it home. It sits in his drawer for a while, hidden from the telescreen in a corner of the room, until he makes a conscious decision to commit an undeniable thought crime and starts writing in it. Each day he writes, he grows more sure and courageous in his rebellion, plotting against the party and trying again and again to devise any sort of plan which could disrupt their control.
1984 is in essence a political story, a warning from Orwell to the world of the dangers that a totalitarian rule pose to all free thinking men and women. Beyond that - it is a captivating story which will the keep the reader engrossed and eager to get to the next page until they reach the final conclusion - will Winston succeed in his rebellion, and overthrow the Party, or will he be captured by the thought police and become yet another mystery in the fold of time?
Nineteen Eighty-Four tells of a world in which only three nations remain - Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia. At any given time, two of these nations will be allied against the other, as they are constantly at war as a means of consuming produced good and maintaining a hyperactive level of patriotism among their respective citizens. It is a war which nobody will win nor lose, and therefore has no end in sight.
The audience follows the story of Winston Smith, a middle aged citizen of Oceania who suffers from a varicose ulcer on his leg and a tendency to drink gin throughout the day. He awakens each to day to the screech of the telescreen, a small television like device found virtually everywhere in Oceania. They are used to both monitor its people and to distribute propaganda and other rhetoric. Operating the telescreen, the thought police watch over everyone and, although there are no official laws in Oceania, if one is seen acting or speaking in an unorthodox manner they are likely to become a target of the thought police, who kidnap such 'thought criminals' in the middle of the night and subsequently destroy any remaining traces of their existence.
Winston's job at the Ministry of Truth is to rewrite newspapers, books, plays, magazines, and any other media which may mention a vaporized thought criminal or any other utterance which shines an unfavorable light on 'The Party' - the ruling class of Oceania, of which Winston is a member. Within the Party is the 'Inner Party' who are the elite, true rulers, and outside the Party, making up around eighty-five percent of Oceania's population, are the proles. Orwell's description of the class dynamic which exists in the realm of 1984 is exquisite and clearly very well thought out on every level.
When Winston comes across a unique looking diary in the prole district of his city, he can't resist it and makes an impromptu, unorthodox decision to purchase it and take it home. It sits in his drawer for a while, hidden from the telescreen in a corner of the room, until he makes a conscious decision to commit an undeniable thought crime and starts writing in it. Each day he writes, he grows more sure and courageous in his rebellion, plotting against the party and trying again and again to devise any sort of plan which could disrupt their control.
1984 is in essence a political story, a warning from Orwell to the world of the dangers that a totalitarian rule pose to all free thinking men and women. Beyond that - it is a captivating story which will the keep the reader engrossed and eager to get to the next page until they reach the final conclusion - will Winston succeed in his rebellion, and overthrow the Party, or will he be captured by the thought police and become yet another mystery in the fold of time?
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