Book Review: Nineteen Eighty-Four

Book Review: Nineteen Eighty-Four

 Many readers who completed their high school and college years from the fifties through the seventies have already read this book.  Some students during that time period may not have read this book because it was considered subversive by many local school districts. First published in 1949 and written by George Orwell.  Nineteen Eighty-Four is futuristic utopian fantasy set in fictional Oceania, one of three super states that have divided up the world.

  Many terms that originally came from this book such as Big Brother—the constant observance of society by the powers in control—are still used with that basic meaning. In the last Bond movie Spectre 007 (Blu-ray), there is a line that M says, ‘Orwell is turning over in his grave’ referring to the rise of surveillance in society. So Orwell’s work is still being referenced to this day. But there are more terms such as, DoubleThink, CrimeThink, that in the time of Oceania would encompass the meaning of Political correctness today.

  This book is every bit as much about language, the use of it, how it is used, and how it is defined as it is a futuristic critique of extreme controls and planning by those that come to power.  Orwell, saw deceit, treachery, corruption, and dissolution of freedoms long before most of were born and he projected his insight towards a future that becomes defined by IngSoc, the Newspeak word for English Socialism.  The principle character Winston Smith, is what we define today as a low level bureaucrat. Winston has had a past life with a wife and memories, memories that are so troubling—because they take him back to past that officially never existed. And his job is to erase all versions of incidents that did not officially happen. He does this with Newspeak the newest form of English. Newspeak is not a growing language, in fact it is shrinking, and the newer combined words have less broadly defined meanings. The powers behind big brother by the control of language. They don’t allow words such as freedom, liberty and there are no words to replace those words. So those concepts of liberty and freedom simply disappear.

I think the most important, thought provoking part of this book is at the end. George Orwell wrote a fictional Appendix for Newspeak. In the appendix he explains how language would be used to control society. (Sound familiar?)

Nineteen Eighty-Four is five full sails. I read it in paperback for $6.00 US. This book is ranked 75 on Amazons sales list. You can order right now.  It is also available for Kindle all customers and those on Amazon Prime. 
Thanks for reading, please share on Google + & Twitter and recommend to your friends.
AJJ 

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