1984

 

Introduction

"Nineteen Eighty-Four"(1984) was published in 1949, written by English writer George Orwell. It is a dystopian social science fiction novel depicting the world in 1984, using the protagonist Winston Smith to unveil the dark side of this dictatorial world.

Feedback

The first time I read "1984" was in high school, and I was shocked by the plot and how precisely George Orwell depicted this world. As a result, "1984" was my favorite book during high school. However, I read the Chinese version at that time, so I think it would be a great opportunity to read it again in the original version.

"Big brother is watching you."

I guess it is impossible for people in 1949 to picture such a world in the novel. But for us, who live in 21 century, we would find so many similarities compared to the modern world. The most famous quote in "1984" is, "Big brother is watching you." In Great Britain(book's imaginary state), people are under surveillance by the government. They can not express any suspicion toward the Party; otherwise, their life will be threatened by Thought Police. However, thanks to the successful brainwashing, it is rare that people will show any distrust. The whole story is under a gloomy atmosphere because no one knows whether "Big Brother" is watching or not.

Big Brother is the leader of Oceania, he is idealized and brave, but he never showed up in "1984." In my opinion, he is a made-up person, and the reason why the Party creates such a leader is that it is much easier for people to understand the situation. Besides, people are more tend to follow an "icon" more than the government, just like current North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, people adore or even worship him, treat him like God.

In the story, Winston and his lover Julia wanted to rebel but ended up finding the place they hid that was already under Thought Police's control. When reading this plot, I cannot help thinking, "Is there anyone we can trust?" Back to the present, 2022, the era in which everyone has their own smartphone, didn't we just provide a perfect tool for the government or other people with bad intentions to track? 

What is truth?

Winston works at the "Ministry of Truth," and his job is to distort history. Whenever the Party announces something different than previous words, Winston has to rewrite the news and destroy the original one. People should follow whatever the government said, and if they said 2+2=5, that is also correct. 

I have always thought that history is unshakable, but I started to doubt it after reading this novel. Do People really that easy to be manipulated? Independent thinking is essential, but what if the so-called "independent thinking" is constructed on a fake world?

In Great Britain, there have "Thought Police," these people will control and monitor citizens, and if anyone shows any "incorrect" thoughts, Thought Police will put them in jail and "purify" them. Thought Police made me think of China, which only permits one voice. As Taiwanese, it would not be unfamiliar to see the celebrities "admit their faults" and apologize to Chinese people. 

If we only live in the echo chamber, only listen to the things we want to hear, only watch the things we want to see, then what is the point of living? I think one of the essences of life is to become a better self, but how can we improve if we reject and eliminate different opinions? "1984" is not only a cautionary tale but also makes readers reflect on themselves. 

"1984" is definitely a masterpiece, whether in the past or present. Every time I read it, I will admire the author George Orwell again on how he precisely predicted the future. This novel discussed so many aspects, and each of these is worth diving deep into. I raised so many questions after reading "1984," although I still cannot figure out the answer, and maybe we will never find out, but it is still nice once we start to discuss these issues.