1984

My copy of 1984 by George Orwell that I bought from a secondhand store was the perfect size for my brand-new shoulder bag. I wasn’t planning on reading the book, but it was just the perfect excuse to leave the house in a cute outfit with the purse.

For how short the book is, it took me a long time to finish it. I was very uncomfortable with the blind, almost cult-like, worship of Big Brother. Winston Smith was also just not a likeable character. He was boring and numb, which I am aware is the whole point but it’s just not interesting to read in my opinion. Also,­­ he wasn’t someone that was powerful– his knowledge regarding the innerworkings of the Party and the resistance were limited and unreliable. I prefer reading dystopian novels from the point of view of the Hero.

It took me a long time to write this review, partly because it took me a long time to really process the ideas and themes of 1984 but after seeing clips from the inauguration, I feel really compelled to write this.

We all saw Elon Musk get on the stage during the rally and do the ‘Nazi’ salute not once, but twice– while the crowd cheered on. Hours later he tweeted on his platform, X, that “The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.” Despite the obvious message that he is sending, many of his supporters are defending him– saying that we are all misunderstanding his ‘straight-armed’ gesture.  This is similar to what Orwell wrote on page 82, “The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

Trump originally backed the TikTok ban during his first term and now he is being hailed as its savior. The message that every United States citizen received when opening the app back up after the 14-hour ban was, “Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!” TikTok was saved, but at what cost? When users search terms like “Trump rigged election” or “Banned Books” a ‘No Results Found’ page pops up. Very similar to how the Party handled their own politics and history. Winston’s job was to literally rewrite the past, for “Who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.”

I could go on and on about how our current government under President Trump is reflective of Big Brother and the Party but for a better understanding of the messages, you should read the book.  

These laws and policies all had to start somewhere, the normalization of being watched all the time through a television screen or turning in your own family members for “thought crimes” only happens after decades of learned behaviors. I guess what I am trying to get at is, we are living through the beginning of the cycle that plays out in the book. As readers we never see what happens with the resistance and we will never know if the Party is defeated, it is all left to speculation. We are left unsatisfied, with only the knowledge that Winston has once again been brainwashed by the Party.

Anyways, this book is a classic for a reason. Everyone should read this book and it should be taught in school again. The themes are important and these conversations need to happen.