Orwell, George—1984

Posted January 11, 2004, 2:19 p.m.

In my review of Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451,” I said that “Fahrenheit” was probably more realistic than George Orwell’s 1949 masterpiece, “1984.” But what “1984” lacks in believability, it makes up for in depth and in brilliance.

The story follows Winston Smith in 1984 London, which is then part of a super-country known as Oceania where workers toil under the watchful eye of an omnipresent “Big Brother.” Thought Police ensure that the population follows, and believes, the doctrines of the “Party.”

Orwell’s dystopian writing stems from the Socialist dystopia that developed in Russia, a world that looks great on paper but is really very horrible to live in. His logical extension of the one-time Russian reality was a world where the people are afraid to speak out or call attention to the faults of their society, because the Thought Police will torture or kill them for having even an idea that goes against Party doctrine.

While it is clear that the societies of the world did not develop as Orwell envisioned they would have by 1984, this amazing novel is still eye-opening. In our modern societies, so riddled with political-correctness, the concept of using language to change thought is particularly relevant. Newspeak, the official language of Oceania, is a fascinating concept in and of itself: If a language does not have a way of expressing a thought, then somebody who thinks in that language will not be able to think that thought.

“1984” is a mind-bending adventure that keeps you guessing, with an ending that will give you shivers. There are long tracts of sociological discussion which may bore you if you’re just looking for action, but if you’re looking for something to make you think then this book will not let you down.

“Big Brother is Watching You,” is the caption beneath the ever-present visage of the overseer. This cautionary tale is a great read, a wonderful story, and probably one of the biggest reasons that we have no “Big Brother” to contend with today. I highly recommend that everybody read Orwell’s “1984.”

5 out of 5 stars.

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.

Quotes

One of the most basic elements of western-style democracies is freedom of conscience, which is necessary for achieving true consent of the governed.

Ibn Warraq

One of the grand fallacies of our time is that something beneficial should be subsidized.

Thomas Sowell

If we are not confident of our freedom, then we are not free.

Salman Rushdie

War is horrible, but slavery is worse, and you may be sure that the British people would rather go down fighting than live in servitude.

Winston Churchill

I feel convinced that my preservation was not altogether accidental, but was indeed the work of divine power.

Nikola Tesla

Those who deny that a tendency toward evil is basic to human nature cannot make sense of history, which becomes merely endless, incomprehensible tragedy.

James Hitchcock

But you can be certain, you want-to-be tyrants, that your slaves will take their revenge where they can, even if that means merely being much less than they could be.

Jordan Peterson

Revolutions like this have happened in almost every country in Europe . . . instances of the people losing their liberty by their own carelessness and the ambition of a few.

Patrick Henry

If after ten minutes at the poker table you do not know who the patsy is, you are the patsy.

Unknown

I don’t think goodness is something that you learn. If you’re left adrift in the world to learn goodness from it, you would be in trouble.

Cormac McCarthy

As a general rule, it’s always smarter to criticize people who aren’t around.

Scott Adams

It is . . . nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry.

Albert Einstein

The middle of the road is where the white line is—and that’s the worst place to drive.

Robert Frost

Whenever an angel says ‘Be not afraid!’ you’d better start worrying. A big assignment is on the way.

Elie Wiesel

Your money does not cause my poverty. Refusal to believe this is at the bottom of most bad economic thinking.

P.J. O’Rourke

No Reformer believed in private interpretation of Scripture, but they had no clear way to discern whose interpretation was the correct one. [They] quickly discovered that casting off Rome’s authority solved one problem but created another.

Rod Dreher

The laws of nature are constructed in such a way as to make the universe as interesting as possible.

Freeman Dyson

One of the strongest walls in our mental prisons is a thing called history. And history isn’t even real.

Scott Adams

Some western scholars have tried to argue that Islamic anti-Semitism is only a recent phenomenon learned from the Nazis and that Jews lived safely under Islamic rule for centuries, especially in medieval Spain. These assertions are not supported by the evidence.

Ibn Warraq

The lesson of all this was, of course, that because we’re a great nation, our challenges seem complex. It will always be this way. But as long as we remember our first principles and believe in ourselves, the future will always be ours.

Ronald Reagan