1984 by George Orwell | Book Review

Synopsis

A masterpiece of rebellion and imprisonment where war is peace, freedom is slavery and Big Brother is watching. Thought Police, Big Brother, Orwellian – these words have entered our vocabulary because of George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel 1984. The story of one man’s Nightmare Odyssey as he pursues a forbidden love affair through a world ruled by warring states and a power structure that controls not only information but also individual thought and memory. 1984 is a prophetic haunting tale more relevant than ever before. 1984 exposes the worst crimes imaginable, the destruction of truth, freedom, and individuality.

My Review

Wow. This was definitely a powerful read. I’ve been meaning to read this for nearly 5 years now, ever since covid happened and I kept hearing people bringing it up. Back then I wasn’t really much for reading though so it took me quite awhile to get around to finally reading this. Now, I can understand the comparisons people share, between the world we’re currently living, and the dystopian, Orwellian world of Big Brother. Granted, within the book it is on a much more extreme scale. At least, in the current world we’re living in, we are still free to think whatever we want without fearing for our lives, though, in recent years it is evident we no longer are able to openly say it online on many platforms, due to censorship, fact checking, and shadow banning. Things that are considered ‘thought crimes’ in today’s world get silenced and discredited by ‘Big Brother’ social media platforms, media outlets, and governments – those that hold major influences over society.

There was talk about how ‘The Party’ controls the past and the future, and how memories hold power. This particular section got me thinking about the ‘Mandela Effect’. There are many people who believe the ‘Mandela Effect’ is a splitting of timelines. Personally, I believe it is a mass social experiment to see if ‘Big Brother’ can manipulate the masses into believing that our collective memories of something are wrong. There have been many instances where people have found evidence that our collective memories were correct – remnants of the past by owned items showing proof our memories were correct, yet at some point, were changed. They tried to convince us those things never were. However, if ‘Big Brother’ can convince the masses that our collective memories are wrong, they can effectively change beliefs, morals, religions, our behavior, and probably far more. And now that we are moving into the age of AI, things are about to become a whole lot foggier. AI will blur the lines of the past and the present, convincing people things happened that never did. It will have a powerful impact on shaping narratives and molding our belief systems, unfortunately. I doubt this is even the first time our collective memories have been wiped. Isn’t it strange, that as a collective of people, we have absolutely no idea where we come from? We have so many theories, but we have absolutely no concrete evidence of who/what we are or where we came from. Despite this, we’re so divided on beliefs of absolute certainty that we know, yet, we don’t truly know anything.

Another recent example of how this book mirrors our current modern day reality, was the use of fear in order to control people and make them bend to Big Brother’s will, even to the point of betraying loved ones. It was even worse for the young generations who knew nothing of the past. They were indoctrinated at a young age and knew of nothing else. They didn’t even need to be fear mongered, they simply obeyed without question, because that’s all they knew and were taught to do.
Later on in the book, Winston was being tortured for going against Big Brother, and no amount of pain would make him betray Julia, the woman he loves. He was able to withstand great amounts of pain to the point he could have died from it. Big Brother then used fear against him, his absolute worst fear of all, and that was the point in which he betrayed Julia. This particular section reminded me of just a few years ago, during covid. People were so fearful, constantly being bombarded with fear through government and the media, as well as being told by highly influential people to socially chastise and turn on rebelling friends and family members, there were actually people that said in interviews that they would be willing to see their friends and family members forcibly detained into camps ‘for the greater good’. This period of time was a great testament to the dangerous reality of what fear can do, and goes to show the mindset people were in that allowed the Holocaust to happen. That people can so easily be driven to fear, and this fear state allows people to become so pliable, so manipulable, and become so brainwashed by Big Brother that they will willingly turn on their friends and family should they go against the system. That is the danger of what living in a state of fear can do, and I really hope people will remember this period of history and not be so easily driven to fear the next time it happens.

But I digress, those are just a few examples of how this book eerily mirrors our own world today. It makes me thankful for spaces like the Small Web, outside of Big Brother social networking platforms where people can truly say how they feel without repercussions from Big Brother. For now.

I think everyone should read this book at least once, and reflect on the modern day and how closely it mirrors reality. And most importantly, always remain self aware and be mindful to keep your fear in check. Don’t ever allow fear to become your master.

The Cozy Cat Rating: ★★★★★