George Orwell - 1984

by George Orwell

Author:

George Orwell's real name was Eric Blair. Born in India in 1903, he became a poor "scholarship boy " in a snobbish English prep school. The horrors of his schooldays live in a bitter essay Such, Such Were the Joys". But he won a scholarship to Eton. Because he did not want to face an University life and further snobbery, he went to Burma in 1921, where he spent five years as a policeman and wrote his first novel, "Burmese Days". Disgusted of the imperialism, he went to Paris and London, subsisting infrequently on jobs in restaurant kitchens. His experiences led him to the writing of his first great book Down and Out in Paris and London" (1933). From then on Orwell struggled to earn a living as a journalist and author. He became involved in various left-wing causes during the depression but always remained suspicious of any political doctrine when it violated the basic human rights of the individual. Political idealism led him to fight on the Loyalist side in the Spanish Civil War, in which he was wounded. Returning to England, he wrote Homage to Catalonia, an impassioned attack an the betrayal of the Spanish Loyalists by the Communists. Orwell's contempt for police states in Spain, Italy and Germany and warnings to England of the coming conflict between democracy and totalitarianism appeared in many of his essays, which were disregarded or attacked by Left and Right alike. Although he had always suffered from weak lungs, Orwell exposed himself during World War II to exhaustion, serving as an air-raid warden when he was rejected by the army. Mortally ill he wrote after the war his two masterpieces, Animal Farm (1945) and 1984 before his death on January 23, 1950.

In the year 1984, Winston Smith, a minor employee from the Outer Party begins a secret journal. It is a dangerous act because secret thoughts and relics from the past are forbidden and hunt down by the dreaded thought police. Winston lives in London, principal city of Airstrip One, part of Oceania which consists of Britain, North and South America. Like the two other massive power blocs of the world, Eurasia and Eastasia, Oceania is a completely totalitarian police state, adhering to the principles of Ingsoc, or English Socialism. The majority of the population are called proles; they are considered to be too stupid to matter. To ensure the complete loyalty of its members, the Party has placed a two-way telescreen in every room. But Winstons apartment has a such peculiarly shaped room that he can hide in a corner from the ever-watchful telescreen. Winstons job is to falsify back numbers of the Times in order to keep them in line with present policy in Oceania. History is a plaything of the Party, objective truth no longer exists. His soul-destroying and dreary work is briefly interrupted by the  Two Minutes Hate Session which all workers must attend. They are shown movies about the war with Eurasia. During these session Winston sees Julia, a lovely, cool, dark-haired girl. He first thinks of her as to be a member of the dreaded thought police until she secretly slips Winston reading "I love you". They arrange a rendezvous in the country, far from every telescreen. They become lovers because they both despise the party. Mr. Charrington, who sold Winston the book which became his diary, shows Winston a little bedroom which becomes the haven for the lovers. Winston and Julia feel there must be other secret rebels, so they try to make contact. Winston remembers O'Brien, whom he suspects to be contempt of the party, too. So they meet him at his apartment, where O'Brien enlists them in the ranks of a fake conspiracy. He also tells them that Goldstein lives and is the author of a heretical book which O'Brien lends Winston. Winston begins to read "The Book" which points out the infinite cruelties of the party when a telescreen hidden in the haven orders their arrest. Mr. Charrington was a member of the Thought-police. Both are brought to the Minitru, where they are separated and tortured to confess the errors of their rebellion, they finally even give up and betray their love for each other. He is made love only Big Brother. After this Winston is set free, now being a crook- physically, mentally and spiritually. He is not considered worth being vaporized. He is given a minor job which leaves him plenty of time to sit in a cafe. One day he meets Julia, but they both know that they betray their love, so there is nothing left to say. The brainwashing and shock treatments have succeeded, in the depths of his soul Winston knows that he loves Big Brother.

Interpretation:

The book is both a prophecy and a warning of what life might be if individuals allow themselves to be controlled by the state and if totalitarianism covers the whole world. Orwell puts forward the horrible theory in "1984" that people can be de-humanized and swayed in any direction ideologically if exposed to sufficient physical torture. On the whole the book is a vision of the future as a nightmare rather than a paradise.

Characters:

Winston Smith: An average, intelligent man, a minor employee in the Ministry of Truth, Oceania's propaganda machine.

Julia: A beautiful, rebellious young mechanic in the Fiction Department. She hates the Party and wants it to rot from the core.

O'Brien: Ugly, highly intelligent, and a member of the Inner Party. Winston first thinks of him as being a friend, but he turns out to be the one Winston and Julia relied on but who finally "deceived" them.

Big Brother: The all-seeing, all-powerful ruler of Oceania whose magnetic eyes stare out from every billboard. He is the personification of the power of the Party

Emmanuel Goldstein: The semi-mythical arch-enemy of Oceania who leads "the brotherhood" who fight for the freedom of the individuality.