George Orwell, 1984 Review

Overall Rating

George Orwell, 1984 - I very much enjoyed 1984 by George Orwell. Orwell had a terrifying vision of the world we were gradually becoming in 1949. Though 1984 is long gone, his concerns can still be applicable today.
Winston Smith is a lone protagonist in a corrupt totalitarian socialist society called Ingsoc where one has no "friends," only "comrades." Orwell orchestrates a fearful and depressing image of a loss of individuality, freedom, and truth through his character Smith and his experiences with is environment. Smith knows there is something wrong, that he hates where he is. However, he feels he is all who understands. No one opposes the "Inner Party" without meeting certain death. Eventually, though, Smith comes across Julia, a woman that has the same discomforts as him. Here he is able to find a sense of pleasure, of freedom. As he enjoys brief moments out of his shackles with Julia, he begins to further discover truth. There are rumors of a society called the "Brotherhood," a group that resists Ingsoc. Smith and Julia stumble upon the "Brotherhood," and the truth really starts to unravel.
Orwell does an outstanding job of addressing the faults of society and the path the government seems to be headed toward. He loudly expresses his opinions "against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism." His hate for unchangeable caste systems and cruel oppression of the "proles" is blatant in this novel. This is a timeless story that will be enjoyed by generations to come.