2 adaptations, publications in 60 languages of the world, 8th place in the list of the best two hundred books according to the Air Force - all this is the book "1984". George Orwell is the author of the best dystopian novel, which has taken pride of place among Bradbury's “We” Zamyatin and “451 degrees Fahrenheit”.
A little bit about the history of the book
Born in India, former colonial officer George Orwell moved to Europe to become a writer. His creative activity became noticeable after the publication of the provocative book "Farmyard" (or "Animal Farm"). Describing the caste inequality of the population, fighting for freedom of thought and condemning any enslavement of the freedoms of the common man, the writer expands the theme in the novel "1984". The book reveals the author’s desire to show what a totalitarian regime is, how harmful it is for a person and the system as a whole.
Naturally, such a progressive view is unlikely to appeal to representatives of the ruling authoritarian government. The "Farmyard" in the Soviet Union was called a "vile" parody of the social way of life, and Orwell himself became an opponent of communism and socialism.
The denial of any kind of enslavement of man - physical and moral, the condemnation of denunciations and the infringement of the human right to free expression - all this was received as the basis for the book "1984". George Orwell finished work on the novel in 1948, and in 1949 it was already published.
The violent reaction to the publication of the work was not long in coming. Among the cheers, the start of filming, translation of the book into other languages, there was an accusation of plagiarism!
The fact is that the novel "1984" George Orwell published after the publication of the work of Eugene Zamyatin "We", which is based on a similar idea of the totalitarian system of society and the pressure of politics on the personal life of a person. The charge of plagiarism was dropped after the researchers managed to clarify that Orwell read "We" after the birth of his own idea to create a dystopia.
Such processes, when different authors undertake to present similar ideas almost at the same time, are logically connected with global political and social changes in society. The historical processes in Europe at the beginning of the twentieth century, the emergence of a new state of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is proof of this.
Storylines of the novel
In the novel "1984" can be divided into 2 main areas in which the development of the plot - socio-political and moral-psychological. These two areas are so intertwined that it becomes impossible to imagine one without the other. The description of the foreign policy situation is shown through the prism of the experiences and thoughts of the protagonist. Relations between people are also a manifestation of the social structure of the state, which George Orwell describes in 1984. Analysis of the work is impossible without both directions.
The actions described in the book take place in Oceania - a superpower that was formed as a result of the split of the world into 3 main parts after the Third World War. Oceania represents the union of the American states, Africa and Australia, led by the center - Great Britain. The other two parts of the world are called Eurasia (the Soviet Union, the rest of Europe, Turkey) and Ostasia (the current countries of Asia).
In each of these states there is a clear hierarchical system of power and, accordingly, a caste division of society. The top of the board in Oceania is the Inner Party. She is also called the Big (Elder) Brother, who tirelessly "watches you." Simply put, the whole life of society is under the total control of the rules of the Party in the name of the "common good." The Elder Brother controls everything - the work, the personal life of a person, as well as his thoughts, feelings and emotions. The one who becomes a “thought criminal” (thinking differently from what the Party “permits”) will face severe punishment ...
By the way, love and a sense of affection for loved ones are the same mental crime. Anyone who is a fan of love topics in literature will find another storyline for himself. The relationship between the protagonist and her lover. Of course, peculiar. Love under the relentless gaze of Big Brother ...
Crime, police of thoughts and television
In 1984, author Orwell George shows how ideology permeates a person’s personal life. Control over all areas is carried out not only at the workplace, in the dining room, shop or street event. The party monitors the dinner table in the circle of relatives, day and night.
This is carried out with the help of the so-called television screen - a device similar to a television set on the streets and in the homes of party members. Its purpose is twofold. Firstly, to broadcast false news around the clock about Oceania’s victories in the war, about how much better it has become to live in the state, to glorify the party. And secondly, to be a camera for monitoring the personal life of a person. The television screen could be turned off for only half an hour a day, but this did not guarantee that he did not continue to monitor all the actions of the citizen.
Monitoring compliance with the "norms" of life in society was carried out by the police of thoughts. In case of disobedience, she was obliged to immediately seize the thought-criminal and do everything possible so that the person would realize that he was wrong. For a more complete understanding: even a person’s disagreeable expression on a person’s face is a kind of mental crime, a facial crime.
Double-mindedness, Newspeak, and Ministries
“War is peace,” “black is white,” “ignorance is power.” No, this is not a list of antonyms. These are slogans existing in Oceania that show the whole essence of the ruling ideology. "Doublethinking" is the name of this phenomenon.
Its essence lies in the belief that the same thing can be described in opposite terms. These characteristics may exist simultaneously. In Oceania, there is even a term such as "black-and-white".
An example of doublethink can also be the state of war in which the state lives. Despite the ongoing fighting, the state of the country can still be called peace. After all, the development of society does not stand still in wartime.
In connection with such an ideology, the names of the Ministries in which members of the Outer Party (the middle link in the hierarchy of society in Oceania) do not seem so absurd. So, the Ministry of Truth was engaged in disseminating information among the population (by rewriting the old and embellishing it), the Ministry of Abundance - economic issues (for example, the supply of products that were always in short supply), the Ministry of Love (the only building without windows, in which, apparently , torture was carried out) - by law enforcement, the Ministry of Education - by leisure and entertainment, and the Ministry of Peace - of course, by issues of war.
Among the population, abbreviated names of these Ministries were used. For example, the Ministry of Truth was more often referred to as the Ministry of Law. And all because a new language was developing in Oceania - Newspeak, which meant the exclusion of all objectionable Party words and the maximum reduction of phrases. It was believed that everything that does not have its own term cannot exist at all. For example, there is no word "revolution" - there are no processes corresponding to it.
Summary of the novel
The action takes place in the capital of Great Britain - London - and its environs, as George Orwell writes in 1984. A brief outline of the novel must begin with an introduction to the protagonist.
From the very beginning of the reading, it becomes clear that the main character - Smith Winston - works in the already well-known Ministry of Truth, just those who "edited" the news. The protagonist’s whole life boils down to visiting the workplace, having lunch at the minister’s canteen and returning home, where he is waiting for the relentless television screen and the bright news of Oceania.
It would seem that a typical representative of the middle class, the layman, what millions. Even his name is ordinary, unremarkable. But in fact, Winston is the one who has not come to terms with the existing social system, who is oppressed by totalitarianism, who still notices the boredom and hunger in which London lives, sees how the news is being replaced, and who is tormented by what ordinary people turn into. He is a dissenter. He is the one who, in the guise of an ordinary citizen happy with everything, hides from the Police thoughts the true desires and intentions.
In "1984" George Orwell unfolds the plot just from the moment when the protagonist does not withstand the pressure of his thoughts oppressing. He buys a notebook in the neighborhood of proles (proletarians, the lower caste living in Oceania) and begins to write a diary. Not only is writing itself a crime, the essence of writing is hatred of the Party. Only the highest degree of punishment can wait for such behavior. And this is far from imprisonment.
At first, Smith does not know what to record. But then he begins to outline all that comes to mind, even excerpts from the news that he has to deal with at work. All this is accompanied by a fear of being caught. But to keep your thoughts in the only safe place - your own consciousness - there is no more strength.
After some time, Winston begins to notice that someone is following him. This is his colleague, a young girl named Julia. The hero’s first logical thought was that she was following him at the behest of the Party. Therefore, she begins to experience mixed feelings of hatred, fear and ... attraction.
However, an accidental encounter with her and a secret note transmitted to him put everything in its place. Julia is in love with Winston. And admitted it.
The girl is the one who shares the views of Smith on the current state of affairs in society. Secret meetings, walks in the crowd, where you had not to show that they were familiar, bring the heroes even closer. Now this is a mutual feeling. Mutual forbidden feeling. Therefore, Winston is forced to secretly rent a meeting room with his lover and pray so as not to be caught.
The Secret Affair eventually becomes known to Big Brother. Lovers are placed in the Ministry of Love (now this name sounds even more ironic), and then they will face a difficult retribution for their relationship.
How the novel ends, George Orwell tells in 1984. No matter how many pages of volume this book makes up, it is worth the time.
The relationship between people in the novel
If you know how to relate to feelings in Oceania, a logical question arises: "Then how do families exist there at all? How does 1984 tell us about this?" The book clarifies all these points.
The party "educated" the denial of love and freedom of man since his youth. Young people in Oceania entered into an anti-sexual union in which the party and virginity were revered, and everything free, including the manifestation of feelings, was considered unacceptable for a real citizen.
Marriage relations were built only with the consent of the Party. There should not have been a hint of sympathy between the partners. Sex life was limited to having children. Winston himself was also married. His wife, who supported the Party’s attitudes, was disgusted by physical closeness and, after unsuccessful attempts to have a child, left her husband.
As for the children, they were a reflection of the relationship between parents. Rather, the complete indifference of family members to each other. From an early age, children were instilled with fanatical devotion to the ideals of the party. Each of them was set up in such a way that he could be ready to convey to any person if he commits a thought crime. Even if their mother or father turns out to be dissenters.
The Book of 1984, George Orwell: Description of the Characters
About the main character Winston Smith, you can add that he is 39 years old, he is a native of London in the early 40s. The family in which he grew up consisted of a mother and sister and was poor. However, like most middle-class and lower-class Oceanians. In adulthood, Winston often had a sense of guilt associated with the fact that he selected the most delicious foods from his younger ill sister. Smith once associated the secret disappearance of his relatives as a child with the work of the Party.
Winston's beloved Julia in the story is younger than him - she is 26 years old. She is an attractive brown-haired woman who also hates Big Brother, but is forced to carefully hide it. So is the relationship with Smith. To break all the rules accepted in the state, she allows a rebellious disposition and courage, unusual for any of Winston's acquaintances.
Another important character that has not yet been mentioned is O'Brien, an official familiar with Winston. This is a typical representative of the ruling elite, who, despite his clumsy full body, has refined manners and even a good mind. Winston at some point begins to take O'Brien for "his", not even suspecting that he is from the Police of Thoughts. In the future, this will play a cruel joke with the main character.
Readers reviews: 1948, George Orwell
Most often, readers speak of "1984" as a terrible, excellent book that warns of such events. The credibility with which the author describes the logical ending of all totalitarian systems is striking. This textbook of democracy. Everything is so carefully thought out in the plot that when you try to create in your imagination a different ending to the history of Winston, you fail. This novel can not be considered just a literary work. That would be shortsighted and, in truth, just plain stupid. Even for proponents of Stalinism and other authoritarian management systems, this story can show the other side of the coin. The most avid ideological followers of totalitarianism are able to feel the wrong. This is another strength of the work - the strongest psychologism. Like Dostoevsky. Winston Smith's mental torment is similar to the experiences of the Raskolnikov system driven into a vice. Recommend "1984" to all those who are a fan of the work of Fedor Mikhailovich.
Many readers do not agree that George Orwell wrote only about communism and the USSR in 1984. Criticism often calls the writer a hater of the Soviet regime, and the work itself is a "stone in the garden" of the then system of government. Readers believe that there is a clear denial of any enslavement of man by the system. Sometimes exaggerated, but the exaggeration in literary work has not yet been canceled. The fact is that many countries still follow a similar path of development. And this sooner or later ends with the collapse of both the entire system and the personal tragedy of an individual, as George Orwell shows in 1984. The point is to take a broader look at the idea of this work, not be limited to one striking example of the Soviet Union.
Emotional reviews say that it just freezes the blood in the veins when you read. An excellent symbolism that can be traced in the everyday world is the correspondence of history, the substitution of concepts, the adjustment of opinion and way of life of a person to the requirements of the system. After reading - wide open eyes and the feeling that I took a cold shower.
There are more critical comments. They mainly say that the book is clearly overestimated in the fact that it changes consciousness. They disagree because a strange sensation arises - either the reader is an unbridled pessimist who does not need to read a book to see the imperfections of the world, or the book was created for those who live in pink glasses.
A common opinion is also the following: the book can rightfully be considered historical. And very modern. Who changed the world? One who was not afraid to die for an idea. One who was scared to live in such an unhappy society. Not the majority of ordinary people who would only survive, but only individuals.
Often controversial, but always alive were and are reader reviews. "1984," George Orwell as a writer never evoked one thing - indifference. And no wonder - in this book everyone can find something for themselves. But not a single book lover can pass by and not even ask what caused such a stir around this work.
Adaptations of the work
A large number of praise was the impetus for the filmmakers to film the novel "1984". George Orwell did not live 6 years before the release on the big screen of his brainchild. The first film appeared at the box office in 1956.
It was directed by Michael Anderson, who, along with screenwriter Templeton, emphasized the film in a totalitarian society. The story of the main character, played by Edmond O'Brien, fades into the background in the film. This was done in order to simplify and create a film more accessible to the general public. But this gave the opposite result. Especially for those who were previously familiar with the phrase "George Orwell," 1984 ". The review of the audience was unambiguous - the film does not reach the book on emotional stress. The novel in the original is more dynamic and exciting.
An interesting fact - the name of the actor (O'Brien) coincides with the name of the character from the book (a party employee who collaborated with the Police of Thoughts). Therefore, it was decided to replace it in the story with O'Connor.
The next person to venture to make a 1984 film was another Michael, only now Radford, a British director. His picture was released in the year that coincided with the events of the book, in 1984. The actor John Hert played the main role, Susanna Hamilton played his lover Julia. Also, this picture was the last in his career and in the life of the famous actor Richard Burton, known for "The Taming of the Shrew", "The Longest Day", etc.
This time, the film adaptation has become more successful - all the main storylines of the book are transmitted, the images of the heroes are fully disclosed. But here, reviews were divided. "1984", George Orwell himself as an author fell in love with readers so much that they could not feel with the film adaptation of the emotional tension, the intensity that the book conveys.
To date, it is known that another, third film adaptation of the dystopian novel is planned . Under the direction of director Paul Greengrass. He became famous thanks to his work on the paintings "The Bourne Supremacy, " "Bloody Sunday." So far, nothing is known about the cast, the start date of the filming and the release of the film. But Sony Pictures and producer Scott Rudin will participate in the process of birth of the picture, which already fuels interest in the future film based on "1984" (George Orwell). Screen version promises to be more modern and high-quality.
General impression of reading
Of course, the most honest, unbiased characteristics of the work are real reviews. 1984, George Orwell and the whole world he created resonated with millions of readers. In places touching and sincere, in places tough, uncompromising and frightening - this book, like life itself. Maybe that's why she seems so real.
"Freedom is an opportunity to say that two, two, four," says George Orwell in 1984 . Quotes from this book are even known to those who have not read it. It is really worth getting to know her. And not just because reviews praise her. "1984", George Orwell, perhaps, will become those books and authors who find their place of honor on the bookshelf and in the heart next to other masterpieces of literature.