Book Review: 1984

1984- George Orwell

This is the first book that I have chosen to review for this blog. Its currently required reading for a class of mine, but I feel qualified to review it, since I have read it twice before.

George Orwell is the pen name of British author Eric Blair, who lived in the first half of the twentieth century. Mr. Orwell wrote the book 1984, in the year 1949, after waking from a nightmare in which he saw the world as it would be in the future. Thankfully, the year 1984 turned out nothing like the events in the novel. But that doesn't make the novel any less important.

The book 1984 represents a nightmarish version of the future in which the government controls everything and life as we know it is irrevocably changed. There are no freedoms, no bill of rights, and almost every basic pleasure is outlawed. People are not allowed to form friendships or relationships, they are not allowed to speak out against anything. There are no forms of entertainment, no privacy whatsoever and even their thoughts can be monitored. People are routinely murdered by the government for hardly anything, and then literally erased from history.

This is an exceptionally well-written novel, but even more then that, it is an important novel. A warning about what can happen if one group of people becomes too powerful. If you have never really thought about how important freedom is, then I suggest you read this, and even if you do value your freedom, you should still read it. The year 1984 came and went 22 years ago, but this novel is still important today, because it shows the dangers that can come of power and corruption, something that can happen any time, any year.


Some interesting facts about what actually happened in the year 1984:

1. Ronald Regan was re-elected in the largest landslide in Presidential history, winning
49 out of 50 states.

2. The L.A. Rams (now the St. Louis Rams) won the super bowl.

3. Perhaps the most important event, I was born. (That was a joke, I'm not really that egotistical).


Similar Reading :

Animal Farm - George Orwell.

Much like 1984, this story represents what can happen when people (or in this case, pigs) become too powerful. The story literally takes place on a farm where the animals can think and talk and decide to overthrow the farmer and take over. What follows is another cautionary tale that uses a lot of symbolism to show the different types of government and the dangers of totalitarianism. This is a small book and an easy read, so if these ideas sound interesting to you, but you don't really like to read, you may want to pick Animal Farm over 1984. The ideal choice, in my opinion, is to read them both.