1984!!

There could definitely be no other book than this one; which would make my best start for this Blog!

In 1984, the writer, George Orwell launches a satirical and uncompromising attack on the brutal system of communism which had reared its ugly head in Russia and wanted to consume the world. The main idea of his novel is the inversion of a natural order which we as readers deduce to be a democratic state of government. It is communism, which corrupts the order and harmony in the world. This attack on communism stems from the fact that it makes men into homogenous cogs of the machine of production and consumption. Man is reduced to the mere figure of a zombie and the very diversity, which is the root of his colorful enthusiasm, is ruthlessly and forcefully suppressed. The state assumes a guard like figure and its citizens are forced to accept the atrocities of this false god head. Every expression of the self is curbed. Art and literature are destroyed and history itself is rewritten to support the policies of a vicious government.

Orwell paints a wonderfully executed portrait of a world run by mind-molding dictatorships; all should know its strange and unnatural message. In fact, this novel is not known so much for its story as for the concepts it promotes. Although 1984 has come and gone, the novel's timeless message is noteworthy. The enthusiasm is not only due to the fact that the novel is written so expressively, and with such foresight, but also because it makes a bold statement about humanity. Many scenes shine with Orwell’s extraordinary writing. The narration of the book is third person limited .The way it describes the organization, a complete power driven party of the future is striking. Not only this but many descriptive scenes and the effective promotion of an unnatural theme are some of the many reasons to read it.

Some might disapprove of 1984 by saying that the totalitarianism it states, the state power that it explains and the ultimate society that it predicts never actually happened. But this mentality is just a cover to hide out the merits of the book. We mustn’t forget that whatever Orwell predicted was more of a warning to the public, to leaders, to governments, regarding the harm that complete state power can cause. It was a guideline to help the governments to not make such a mistake. Till date, the fear exists! Although one can see no possibility of complete sate power and socialism overpowering the present today, but for the future it still IS a warning. A warning: to never forget the past, to keep the past alive in one’s minds, to learn from its mistakes and avoid such a situation to arise ever.

Political tragedies, such as this, are published constantly, but 1984 is one of the few that has remained timeless and will always be regarded as not only historical, but also visionary. The book reminds us of what has gone wrong, what can go wrong, and what will go wrong when government becomes all-powerful.

It is because of this political and social insight that 1984 is one of the best books of all time.

This book is for every individual who enjoys reading and appreciates good language and thought. It might be a little difficult with its high vocabulary but alteast attempt to read 1984; it’s certainly worth the effort.

1984 is a great examination into and dramatization of Lord Acton’s famous apothegm, “power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.

Some salient realities from 1984:

• Citizens cannot escape official opinion or official observation, for every room is equipped with a telescreen that cannot be shut off; it not only broadcasts at all hours, but it also registers precisely every image and voice; it also controls all the activities that keep the private life public. The State not only controls the activities but also the minds of the people. Whatever the State says and believes is the truth. Nothing apart from that ever exists. They control the present, the past and also the future.

• They not only alter the past but completely destroy it. No record of anything that ever existed in the past exists. The State says that it had invented the aeroplane, and this has to be believed as there is no contradictory evidence.

• The public is completely under the beliefs of the State and surrenders in something called the DOUBLETHINK- the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously and fully accepting both. Doublethink is a word in Newspeak, which is the English language being transformed into a devastating bureaucratic jargon whose aim is to reduce the vocabulary to the minimum number of words so that ultimately there will be no tools for thinking outside the concepts provided by the state.

• Anyone indulging in any kind of crime is severely punished. Anyone who acts against the State is considered a criminal. Not only acting, but even thinking against the State is a crime, and is known as THOUGHTCRIME in Newspeak. To commit a THOUGHTCRIME, it would have to appear that your mind is thinking in some way that is opposing the State’s best interests. To monitor these criminals is an organization called the thought police. Any individual engaging in THOUGHTCRIME is generally caught and completely exterminated. Every minute, every hour people disappear, or more appropriately, are vaporized. All the records regarding their existence are wiped out and altered as though they never existed.

• For State members, sexual love, like all love, is a crime, and female chastity has been institutionalized in the Anti-Sex League. The State is against sexual relationships for sheer pleasure. It only supports sexual intercourse for the sole purpose of begetting children. All this and much more is the State’s ideology. This society has one advantage over other ruling parties, it does not promise love and equality for its citizens in the end, but sets forth to create hate, separation, and total inequality among people, making their rule everlasting and indestructible.