Thinking About 1984
1984 by George Orwell is based around politics and the lack of freedoms that are accustomed to us. The party has total control over the country watching every move. Many of George Orwell's books have been based around politics, like Animal Farm, which leads me to believe that he was very much into politics and how they affected his daily life. A number of essays, journals, and letters were put into four volumes that expressed what he thought of politics and current events. Written in 1949, 1984 is based on the spreading fear communism. This book was written the same year that the communist Soviet Union exploded their first atomic bomb, which brought fear to Americans. Panic spread that they would be bombed or taken over. George Orwell wrote what a communist society would evolve into in the future and I believe that Winston is like George Orwell and how he would have reacted. I believe that George Orwell is totally against the idea of the communists and he expresses this through 1984.
George Orwell wrote 1984 thinking what one future possibility of how England might be like under a communist government. Winston works for the Party in the Ministry of Truth, located in London where he alters historical records to fit the Party's needs. Winston is constantly watched over by the party with hidden cameras. Everywhere he goes somebody could be watching him and making sure he is not breaking the rules. Winston isn't even able to think of the word rebellion without fear of the thought police whisking him away, never to be seen again. Winston, with his strong dislike of the party needed to express himself, causing him to stumble upon a journal to record his thoughts down in. One day Winston runs into a co-worker who stands with the Junior Anti-sex league. This league was pro-party and Winston hated her because he could not have her. The girl Winston hates then slipped him a note saying, "I love you." They continue on to have a love affair and are eventually asked to meet with O'Brien. O'Brien being a high-ranking party member was thought to work for the Brotherhood, an anti-party group. O'Brien is then revealed to be a party member and has the thought police take him to the Ministry of Love. Winston is then tortured, where he then pleads to torture the girl instead of him. This is what the party wanted. After being fully brain washed, they let him go back to his regular life. When confronted by the girl, there are no emotions. Winston has been brainwashed to accept the party.
1984 flat out scared me, with the idea of this book and our country turning into a communist, Big Brother obeying nation. I really would not know what to do if I was put into Winston's place. I believe that I would have done something similar because I would not be able to just follow the rules, especially when the rules include no sex or love. This would affect me both personally and religiously. I would not be able to go through everyday life without thinking of the latest girl that I liked. Also without love, I would not be able to really worship God, because I love God. Since Big Brother would only want me to be faithful to him I would have no rights to worship God. I would find it impossible to be inexpressive of my feelings. Winston was also unable to go without expression and that is why he decided to buy a journal.
I am glad that I started reading this book early, mainly because of how I got stuck on the first page. I never knew that English people call the elevator the lift. Once I got past that part I started getting really into it, mainly because it was unlike anything I have ever read before. I started off immediately appealed because of how unorthodox the story was. It continued to get even more intense when Winston was getting deeper into the story caught by the thought police. I thought that this book was written with a good idea, but the story could have been a little more exciting and not so love story-like. The story is based around them being in love and ending up not together. If I was Winston I believe that I would have put up a better fight; he didn't really seem to want to win. He just gave up. If I were in love I would have gone through my greatest fear to fight for what I believe in. Overall I would give this story a B, because of the realistic scary thought and the great idea, but the style could have been a little more exciting.
If I lived in the world that Winston belonged in, I would have found it hard to trust anybody. So the question is, would I have ever really bought the journal and met up with Julia in the forest and rented a room with her? Julia could have been a worker for the thought police. Once they knew that Winston bought the journal they could have had Julia lure Winston into even more trouble. I do not know if I could have trusted the storekeeper because of the thought in my mind that he could work for the thought police. When Winston mentions that O'Brien might be with the Brotherhood, I thought to my self that Winston may be wrong and should not fully trust him. He should have been more cautious throughout the whole book with people he didn't know, especially since he seemed to be the most paranoid of them all.
Being the thoughtful reader I am, I learned that I should be grateful to live in a democracy and have all the freedoms we do have. It made me think of how awful it would be to live in a place like George Orwell was talking about. I also thought that there are places like that. How I hear stories from China where they are unable to have the freedom of speech that we have here. George Orwell was able to predict and write about a government that could happen. It is one hundred percent fully possible that we could have video cameras everywhere watching us. It makes me think how horrible it would be to be watched all the time and I would not know what to do. I definitely would be unable to express myself in a communist form of government and would probably be the first one in line to be brain washed. Then I would have been given the choice whether to die or live and act like something I am not. I would have a tough time making that choice and I am not ready to make it now. I believe George Orwell wrote this story to make us think; think of how lucky we are and it definitely did.
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