"The year 1984 has come and gone, but George Orwell's prophetic, nightmarish vision in 1949 of the world we were becoming is timelier than ever. 1984 is still the great modern classic of "negative utopia" - a startlingly original and haunting novel that creates an imaginary world that is completely convincing, from the first sentence to the last four words. No one can deny the novel's hold on the imaginations of whole generations, or the power of its admonitions - a power that seems to grow, not lessen, with the passage of time."
1984 by George Orwell is about totalitarianism. The author, George Orwell, wrote this fiction book in 1949 and based it off of the totalitarian governments ran by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The main character and protagonist in the novel is 39 year old man named Winston Smith. Although Winston is a working member of the governmental party, he hates Big Brother and the whole party. Big Brother is the dictator of the totalitarian society. Big Brother and the party brainwash the "proles" who make up 85% of the population. He makes the people believe in whatever he says and he makes sure that they do not rebel. Early on in the story, Winston becomes involved with a woman named Julia who is also against the party. They both become intrigued by the brotherhood, which is a rebellious group that understands how unfair everyone is treated. George Orwell shifts the direction of the story when a man named O'Brien becomes an important character. Overall, Orwell sends a powerful message about totalitarianism and the impact it can have on a society. Although I thought this novel was a little slow throughout most of the chapters, the change of pace O'Brien adds contributes to another layer of the novel. I believe it is important that 1984 is read to show humanity what life would be like if our society was ran by a totalitarian dictator.
I give this novel a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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