This is a book that has gone from a work of fiction to one of prophecy. I first read 1984 in the seventies, since then it has become the most influential novel on how I look at the world and what is to come. With the technology at hand these days and coming down the road just how easy would it be to implement what Orwell wrote about. Rumour has it that Orwell had inside knowledge of what was to come so he wrote 1984 as a warning. Ironically or not Orwell was dead two years after publication of 1984. Co-incidence or not?
1984 is not a nice book by any stretch of the imagination. It’s so scary of a novel it could be classified as a daytime horror where the monsters are humans in total control of everything. 1984 starts in harsh words which stay for the entire length of the book. ‘A bright cold day in April’, ‘vile wind’ and ‘a swirl of gritty dust’ describes a rather depressing and barren situation. The hallway of where Winston Smith lived smelled of boiled cabbage and old rag mats. Not a healthy living atmosphere.
Everywhere one went there were posters with a picture of Big Brother staring intensely outwards with the caption ‘Big Brother is watching you’. Telescreens were placed all over to watch everything that happened much like security cameras today. Neither can or could be turned off completely. So you can imagine the effect on a person’s psychological state of mind when everything they said or did was noticed and recorded.
Same goes when shortages of the necessities of life become normal. Electricity is taken for granted until it goes off for an extended period of time. Hygiene products and other essential of daily life were hard to come by and often had to be bought on the black market. The Thought Police patrolled 24/7 to be on the lookout for those being alone or committing thought crime. Along with living in a grimy landscape, things were pretty crummy for the citizens though those running the show had convinced them otherwise.
I read with interest that the Ministry of Love was patrolled by gorilla faced guards in black uniforms armed with jointed truncheons. It reminded me of a TV show I watched a few years ago. Apparently Joseph Stalin wanted to put together an army that was a genetic combination of men and gorillas. It was a total failure but could this be possible with upcoming technology? No matter how you would look at it this would be a sickening experiment.
Memory is not an accurate measure of the past. It can be re-edited by the person it is part of. Plus it can be manipulated by outside sources usually to fill some private agenda. The further you go into the past the more things get fuzzy or blurry.
Book Review: 1984 by George Orwell Part 2
Book Review: 1984 by George Orwell Part 3
Book Review: 1984 by George Orwell Part 4
Ron Murdock has lived and worked in Western Canada all his life, and will continue to do so until his last day on Planet Earth. He has a good number of interests and hobbies which include dogs, freight trains, baseball and astronomy. Ron wants to know what the truth is, and nothing but the truth, and will do what research it takes to find it. The best compliment he can get is when a person says his writing, or what he says, gets them seeking.
