Nineteen Eighty-Four has been on my 'Must Read' list ever since I started my English Literature course back in September of last year, and as much as I enjoyed the book (and I did!!!) it wasn't quite what I was expecting from the novel. If you have already read the book, then you will know that it is incredibly political and in some ways, I wish I had read the book before taking Politics As Level as this only enhanced my understandings of the events that were taking place and made them all the more frightening.
When I first came across The Party's main three-part slogan at the start of the book, I found it difficult to see how there could be any sense in the idea that war and peace are the same thing and that there is little and no difference between freedom and slavery. The idea that one is never truly free because real freedom means to be on your own and not having anyone to be accountable to or for, however paradoxically, being on your own does not mean being free at all because you are responsible for maintaining your freedom and therefore are a slave to yourself and your right to freedom. As the books progresses and these things are put into context, it makes you realise just how real and accurate these slogans actually are.
Although the plots and ideologies in the book are incredibly exaggerated, if you look close enough you can see elements of things in the book, reflected in our own society, - countries becoming and battling to become superstates, society coving up information that makes them look bad, not quite physically changing history, but in my mind they're not far off.
Initially I loved Winston's character, I thought he was brilliant and should be supported in his efforts to over throw the party, but I found myself definitely growing hard towards him and his attitudes as it became apparent of his 'fight-fire-with-fire' attitude. He complained and was repulsed by The Party's lack of morality and human nature, however he was willing to throw acid into a child's face, to lie and murder just to get back at the party. Wasn't it the lies and the murdering of innocent lives that he was angry about? So why would acting the same way show that he was any better than them which is the conclusion that Winston comes to near the end of the novel. That his is better than them and more moral and more human. Personally, I think he is just as bad as the party, the only difference is that he is fighting for something different. I have to admit that in the final part, I felt little in the way of pain and pity towards Winston, and even found myself asking him to be sent to a forced labour camp.
One thing that Orwell has done very well indeed, is to help you empathise with the characters. As a reader, one of the first things I do in a book is develop my relationships with the characters, however right from the word go I was reluctant to connect with anyone and was wary of anything. I wanted to believe that I liked O'Brien's character until the end but something about the way Orwell wrote made me hold back and think 'yes but...'. I found myself detaching myself from Julia and getting as far away as I could because I didn't know if I could trust her. Even Winston who is the protagonist, the person we are supposed to love and support in any other novel, here you just want to keep an eye on him. I was very worried through most of the novel that he was going to do something that even the reader couldn't forgive him for it.
Nineteen Eighty-Four is a brilliant book and one I am so glad to have read. I was genuinely surprised at how easy it was to read. The pages kept turning and I kept on reading. The hardest part of the book to read was the segment from
THE BOOK and even then, it never became unenjoyable. The whole thing has been a fascinating and incredibly thoughtful journey. I know this was Orwell's final novel, but it has left me wanting to back-track and pickup
Animal Farm as soon as I get the chance.
