Book Review :: 1984

A big difference between books and movies is that books often times get recognition much later in time. Movies, however, rarely get delayed recognition. The feedback on them is instantaneous. They are a success or flop or cult favorite - all within a week or month of  the release. Despite this difference, both have something in common - revival. Sort of a second life when contemporary life makes the older book or film relevant and hence worth indulging in, again. '1984' is one such example. 

If you followed the news late January / early February you know that 1984 is seeing somewhat of a revival. It was the #1 most selling book on amazon for one week towards the end of January. Having never read the book I decided to pick it up. I thought, reading someone's coherent thoughts on a dark political situation was going to be more enlightening thank reading people's frustrations on social media. So I looked it up on the library website and there were copies available - I put one on hold and picked it up the next day. 

Orwell most likely took inspiration from the question of what would happen if the outcome of WWII was different. He chose to picture the world as 3 segregated political states each under dictatorship. In '1984' Democracy is non-existent. Freedom is only perceived and is fleeting. History is manipulated to suit current needs. There is no 'family'. Sex is only for procreation. There is only one loyalty, loyalty to the party. 

In this dark and grim world, he builds a couple of complex characters - in Winston and O'Brian. He uses these to play with omnipresent, timeless ideas such as the 3 class system ( the low, the middle and the high), corruption, freedom. There is corruption of the soul, torture of the physique and decay of the human spirit. The book successfully shows that even the strongest of human spirits can be broken, albeit slowly and persistently.  

I appreciated the variations of loyalty shown across generations. Winston, having lived through a free world during his childhood has seen how free one really can be. He clings to whatever memories he has of those times and they keep him alive and hopeful. They even continue to fuel his silent revolution. On the other hand Julia, who was born much later and in the newly formed state of Oceania, understands the idea of freedom, but never expects it to within her reach. She has no hope of it. So she chooses to play with the system. For her there is no ideology, there is only individual interest translated to corruption. She openly defends the party all the while cheating on its ideologies. And then there is the lost cause of the youngest born into a well established party philosophy. This generation, depicted in the kids of Winston’s neighbors, is completely brainwashed …rather their minds have been fabricated, to make believe that everyone is capable of becoming a traitor and we need to watch out for the party.

To me, the most important theme of the book is individuality. I found this a bit similar to Ayn Rand’s view of individualism. The difference though is Rand’s books have heroes who overcome adversities and thrive; they succeed. But Orwell’s book is too pessimistic, (...or it closer to reality?). There are no heroes in 1984. Here’s to hoping that there are some in real world.