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by George Orwell
Classics
"War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength." The first time you read this, it appears to make no sense. Everything is contradictory it seems. Winston lives in a world where this is not odd thinking. Everyone, it seems, is being watched all the time by the totalitarian government known as the party. Telescreens are everywhere. Constantly watching you and gushing propaganda. This propaganda is used against you to make you believe anything the party wants you to.
I never found this book to be even relatively slow or boring. It starts by showing you Winston, the "every guy" you could say. He "falls in love" with a woman named Julia. She is also a rebel of the party. They find secret places to meet. This kind of love connection is not encouraged by the party. Connections between people, in general, is not tolerated.
Julia and Winston are figured out eventually and taken away from each other. They committed thoughtcrime, seen to be the worst crime. They go through a terrible process of being reformed by the party. O'Brien, the antagonist, is the main person in Winston's reform.
The biggest theme in this book, to me, is power. The power of authority and how it affects people. Its not just authority. The party shows its power by reforming and controlling. Individuals in this society show there power in different ways. They have to. Winston initially shows his power through rebellion. He later shows his power through conforming. Although this actually shows the party gaining power, and the loss of individual power.
This book was an amazing novel. It really made me think, and that's what you want in a good novel, right?
- Reviewed by Allesha B.
React to this Review Great Rivers Regional Library
Hennepin County Library
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