George Orwell's 1984

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Recommended: 1984 as a political satire by George Orwell

The strength of a classic noel lies in its ability to make the reader analyse their values and beliefs whilst making them question the world in which we live. George Orwell’s novel “1984” successfully achieves this through its themes, ideas and characters. Of all lines in the book, the slogan of the party resonated with me more than anything. “War is peace. Ignorance is Strength. Freedom is slavery”. This slogan causes the reader to ponder all of these ideas. In today’s world, it is the first line that offers the most food for thought. By its very definition, war and peace are a different as black and white. War is death, destruction and chaos whilst peace is the freedom of war or a state of tranquillity and serenity. So, based on their base principles, s there anyway these ideas can co-exist together? During the novel, Oceania is in a perpetual state of war with another nation, switching allegiances during the story. This constant external war is essentially a camouflage for Oceania’s tyrannical yet tranquil internal police. Although there are stories, there is no civil war, no starvation and no poverty. The brutality of the thought police can be justified as action against “dangers to the safety and security of the nation”. These themes do carry throughout time. The USA have launched their “War on Terrorism” and are currently pursuing Julian Assange as he has been deemed a threat to the nation following his release of classified information. Polititcal authority Orwell’s character of Winston Smith is a prime example of a classic character due to his realisticness. Throughout the novel, we follow his fears, his dreams, his desires and his torture. HE begins as a young man, with a healthy respect for authority. However, this resp... ... middle of paper ... ... celebrations of the October Revolution. The party in 1984 is notoriously totalitarian, controlling all aspects of society. Throughout the ages, society has rebelled against such oppressive systems. There was the French Revolution, and more recently, the coup d’états of Nigeria (2010) and Egypt (2013). As shown, political authority is something that is questioned by the novel and translates accurately to the real world. IN summation, Orwell’s “1984” has most certainly earned its stripes as a classic novel. It has forced my to question my beliefs, consider scenarios and who I am as a person and most importantly, made me question our world. As a result, I firmly believe The strength of a classic noel lies in its ability to make the reader analyse their values and beliefs whilst making them question the world in which we live. This is most definitely true for “1984”.

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