1984 by George Orwell

George Orwell, 1984, Signet Classic, New York, 1949. 

Plot Summary
George Orwell's seminal novel imagines a future in which the government i.e. Big Brother monitors the words, spoken and written, of all its denizens, and the only "free" thoughts are those within the confines of the brain. Oceania, the name of the future country which includes Europe and North America, is perpetually at war, but who they are at war with and why they are fighting shifts. The citizens are trained not to question anything about the war for fear that this thought-rebellion would lead to "vaporization" i.e. death. Children and adults alike are trained to believe in the maxims, "WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" and the well-behaved young ones learn to spy on their elders and turn them in to the powers-that-be. The protagonist, thirty-nine year old Winston, embarks on a journey against Big Brother, but the rebellion remains within the confines of his mind until he finds a co-conspirator named Julia. They fall in love, an act of rebellion against the totalitarian regime which has outlawed passion. Their actions are watched at every moment by a giant tele-screen-- there is no escaping the eyes of Big Brother. Can Winston, a speck of humanity in a sea of inhumanity, survive Big Brother?

Critical Evaluation
Winston represents humanity during an imagined future in which most human instincts for justice, reason, and desire have been squelched by Big Brother. Winston holds out hope that the proletariats, who represent 85% of the population and who are given a freer rein than the party members, will revolt and overthrow the chains of oppression. However, Winston realizes that they lack the consciousness to do so and will remain too stuck in daily life to seize their power. Winston's affair with Julia represents a spark of rebellion--desire is not allowed because it threatens the power of the state. In this novel, Orwell warns of the consequences of a state that will attempt to control its citizens at the expense of all civil rights.

Reader's Annotation
Is there any room for humanity left under the watchful eyes of Big Brother?  Are our human instincts for love, beauty, and truth powerful enough to triumph over a government hungry for control?  What is the fate of a rebel in this kind of environment?

Information about the Author
According to Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature, George Orwell, "attended Eton, where he published his first writing in college periodicals. Instead of accepting a scholarship to a university, he decided to follow family tradition and, in 1922, went to Burma (now Myanmar) to serve in the Indian Imperial Police. Later he was to recount his experiences and his reactions to imperial rule in two brilliant autobiographical sketches, “Shooting an Elephant” and “A Hanging,” classics of expository prose."

"During the 1930s he began to consider himself a socialist. By the time his original and unorthodox political treatise The Road to Wigan Pier appeared in 1937, Orwell was in Spain, where he had gone to report on the Civil War and stayed to join the Republican militia. In May 1937, after having fought in Barcelona against communists who were trying to suppress their political opponents, he was forced to flee Spain for fear of his life. The experience gave him a lifelong dread of communism, first expressed in the vivid account of his Spanish experiences, HOMAGE TO CATALONIA (1938)."

"When World War II began, Orwell was rejected for military service, and instead he headed the Indian service of the BBC and then worked as a journalist. The appearance in 1945 of Animal Farm made him famous and, for the first time, prosperous. Though it was one of his finest works, it has been overshadowed by his last book, Nineteen Eighty-four (1949)."

Genre: Dystopian Literature

Curriculum Ties: Totalitarianism, Human Rights, Dystopian/Utopian Societies

Book-talking Ideas: Make reference to the phrase "Big Brother" and ask what comes to mind. Briefly note contemporary instances of surveillance and explain Orwell's original concern.

Reading Level: Advanced 14+

Challenge Issues: N/A

I included this novel because it's a grand-daddy of dystopian literature and so many novels (Little Brother, Farenheit 451) reference it. It's a commonly taught text in the western canon, and it raises issues that are of interest to many citizens.

Source Citation

"Orwell, George." Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1995. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 May. 2011.