1984 - Finished

I finished up 1984 last night and I want to say how much I love the ending to this book. Orwell could have made the ending a happy (and implausible) one, but instead he maintains the continuity and near-omniscience of the thought police. The shop owner being a member of the thought police is such a beautiful turnabout, and the best part is that it's completely unexpected: the reader never sees it coming. Their torture methods are brutal and pinpoint Winston's fears: rats. Then Winston and Julia meet up after they've been reeducated, which is so brilliant. Their exposition, where they come to the realization that they didn't love each other (and maybe never knew what love meant) was so perfect and concise that I have a hard time putting into words how much I loved that scene. The ending is fantastic, there's no great overthrow of the Party, no revolution occurs, nobody ends up better off, it's just a completely brainwashed Winston waiting for his eventual execution (the part where he recognizes that he loves Big Brother was brilliant).

1984 - First 1/3rd

So for the reading this week, we were assigned the first 1/3rd (or so) of Orwell's classic cautionary tale Nineteen Eighty-Four. The book deals with an oppressive and controlling government at the head of which is the mysterious figure only known as "Big Brother." Posters everywhere remind people that he's always watching them, always searching for treachery or revolutionary thought amongst the populace. I'm going to stop this summary here, and presume knowledge of the text from here on out. I really enjoyed the way Orwell set up this world, I thought he did an excellent job of portraying the society and adding in the small details (such as the uniforms or the taste of the gin). I thought it was quite funny where Winston imagines smashing Julia's head with a rock, and his immediate presumption that she must be a member of the thought police- right up until she tells him she loves him, and suddenly his opinion does a 180. That seems to be the tipping point for Winston: before his only heresy was writing his thoughts in his journal (along with visiting that shop), but after Julia's encounter he opens himself to more 'devious' actions (such as staying in the room with no telescreen for extended time periods).
I also appreciated how other characters were also fleshed out, particularly Syme, the linguist who Winston correctly predicts will be vaporized. I thought it was hysterical how Syme bragged about reducing the size of the vocabulary in an effort to take the subjectivity out of language. His neighbors are portrayed as being terrorized by their children, who are completely brainwashed and would turn Winston, or even their parents, in to the thought police in an instant. Sometimes the themes come across a bit heavy handed, for instance I found the Two Minutes Hate to be a bit forced, although it was funny to see even Winston get drawn into that display of blood-lust.


Honestly there's a reason this book is considered a classic and it's because of the excellent writing, situations, and atmosphere.