Book Review — 1984 By George Orwell
Old book in a new light
Praised by millions all over the world, 1984 by George Orwell is a classic in English literature. It was one of the most relevant books at the time, and still is. Yet a closer look exposes many problems in this beloved book.
Before I delve into what I dislike about this book, it is important to note how innovative 1984 was for the time it was published. Hauntingly reminiscent of dictatorships like the Nazi rule, the slogan which pervades throughout the book, ‘War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength’ is quite possibly one of the most memorable slogans to be written. In a world where the government controls everything and watches you all the time, the protagonist, Winston Smith starts to find fault within the system that has brainwashed everybody into believing this slogan.
One important topic 1984 raises is how far governments may go to retain control. This is especially symbolized by Winston’s job, one in which he must rewrite history, whether in the form of articles or books, in order to fit the government’s narrative. Everytime Oceania, the nation in which Winston lives in, changes its enemy, the past is rewritten. Additionally, the book further exemplifies the willingness of those in power to retain control by showing how the government constantly watches all of its citizens, which is known as ‘Big Brother is watching you.’
Overall, there is no denying the important part in literature 1984 has played. Yet there are a few problems not many bother to discuss when they praise the book for its ingenuity, the first problem being the way Orwell discusses rape in the book. When Winston finally starts talking to Julia, his lover interest, he tells her, “I hated the sight of you…I wanted to rape you and then murder you afterwards.” Julia then responds to this by merely laughing it off. Many may interpret this as Winston’s inability to express his emotions due to the government’s brainwashing. They may also argue that because 1984 is a dystopian book, Orwell simply might just be trying to depict a different reality, one in which rape is normalized and something to be joked about. However, I would argue that even in a world where the government has brainwashed you into the rhetoric as shown in 1984, you should still know and be able to differentiate right from wrong. Orwell’s description of rape in a blatantly misogynistic manner in my opinion, leads to the question of how morally sound he was as a person, and how this should affect people’s opinion when reading 1984.
Throughout the story, women are only ever presented showcased under a misogynistic lens, whether that be a mother, wife, or sexual being, as said by Jennifer O’Dee’ in one of her writings. She also makes the argument that Orwell allowed his own beliefs to heavily influence himself when writing about a dystopian future, which I agree with.
Furthermore, in Noah Berlatsky’s article for the Atlantic, he references how many jump to Orwell’s defense by calling his description of women ‘a product of its time.’ This in itself however, is a contradiction to the book itself. If the sexism in 1984 was simply a product of its time, why should we bother even to read this book if it isn’t relevant anymore. However since the book is still politically relevant, we must come back to the question of how far we should let Orwell’s misogynistic descriptions of women influence our opinion of the book. The answer is not so easy to come up with. In spite of that, the reason why I have brought up this issue is because in all of the reviews in which people applaud 1984, very few seem to ever talk about this topic.
My second problem with this book is frankly the dull writing style George Orwell uses. Although many may appreciate the direct style in which 1984 was written in, I found it to be too monotonous, especially as this book is held in such high regard. For a book to hold such prominence in literature, it should at least be written well enough to appreciate the writing style, regardless of if you liked the book or not. For 1984 however, this was not the case. The execution of Orwell’s ideas was subpar. For most, I suppose the plot and moral of the book was the most important part, as I simply cannot fathom how millions of people could applaud it for its writing style.
Lastly, one big problem with the plot in 1984 is how black and white it is. There is no question in the story that the government is the ‘bad guy.’ The purpose of the book may have been to warn people of the dangers of a totalitarian government, yet in the real world, there would never be such a big distinction between good versus evil, Winston versus Big Brother. In 1984, there is simply no explanation of the motives behind Big Brother. It simply just is. While the book may not be striving to appear realistic, it wouldn’t hurt to close the gap between good and evil and explore the intricacies of human nature more.
With all this being said, I still believe that 1984 is an interesting book. George Orwell presents many intriguing ideas, which are still applicable to the present. However, I don’t agree that 1984 should be considered one of the best books of all time. Calling it that would be a disappointment to how much we have moved on as a society in the treatment of women since this book was published.
