A Timely Review of George Orwell's 1984

For my author spotlight I"m featuring George Orwell, a person to whom great respect is owed. Orwell saw glimpses of our future and could see into the hearts and minds of men. Read  the book Animal Farm for an adaptive insight.

During my day, 1984 and Animal Farm were required reading in school. I have no idea if they still are, but if not, they should be.  Both books hold a prominent place on my bookshelf.

Blurb

Written in 1948, 1984 was George Orwell’s chilling prophecy about the future. And while 1984 has come and gone, Orwell’s narrative is timelier than ever. 1984 presents a startling and haunting vision of the world, so powerful that it is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the power of this novel, its hold on the imaginations of multiple generations of readers, or the resiliency of its admonitions—a legacy that seems only to grow with the passage of time.

5 Star Review

While working for the Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith begins to question the authority he's lived under all his life. Tasked with deleting non-functioning words from the dictionary, an unease begins to build. Smith is watched one hundred percent of the time and he accepts this as the way it is and always shall be. From the moment he rises from bed to the thoughts he thinks, everything is monitored. To go up against the Thought Police is suicide.

"Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past", and so this mantra is used to 'change the past to whatever the party deems it should be'. Revisionist history to be sure.

'Big Brother' is always watching. From giant two-way television screens to people who can electronically monitor your thoughts, someone is always there making sure you keep to the party line.

Things begin to change when Smith falls in love. A uniquely human condition that is outlawed. Smith will transition from a pliable automaton and good patriot, to a fully functioning human being. Watching him grow is exciting, and as he engages in subterfuge you will cheer him on.

1984 is a psychically disturbing message that every freedom loving person should read even if the ending is completely devastating. At best it is a world where technology and power have run amok and at its worst, a testament to the cruelty and avariciousness of humankind. Perhaps it is both.

As we look around the world today, at the constant monitoring of our e-mails, our phone records, and soon, our medical records, 1984 draws a closer parallel with current events. I worry for my grandchildren and wonder what kind of world they will grow up in.

Hopefully, it is nothing like George Orwell's 1984.

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