Banned Books: 1984 by George Orwell

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1984 by George Orwell



Winston Smith, age 39, lives in a world where every move he makes is monitored. The telescreens in his home, work, and in the streets not only broadcast news but relay information back to Big Brother who is constantly watching. Newspeak is continually removing words from the English language, in what has become a successful effort of narrowing the ideas of the population. The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war. The Ministry of Plenty keeps the majority poor. The Ministry of Love is a place most fear. The Ministry of Truth, where Winston works, dispenses lie. Winston knows this because he remembers, even though he is forced to change the records in his line of work, a time when Oceania was at war with Eurasia not Eastasia. But to say such a thing could get him arrested by the Thought Police and thrown into the Ministry of Love where he may never be seen again. The world has changed drastically since Winston’s youth. Now you’re either for the Party, or against the Party. There is no in-between. And they are aware of everything you do, because Big Brother is watching you.
                1984 is a terrifying look at the future Orwell envisioned, where citizens are completely controlled and monitored by the government. Winston is the instrument Orwell uses to explore this view of the totalitarian government in London, which is part of the superpower Oceania. It is clear from the beginning of this novel that Winston’s character is unlike the majority of the characters in a very basic sense: he chooses to remember. Winston observes other people and realize how ready they are to accept the information they are being told without question. He knows that because Big Brother has said it, people believe it must be true even if it conflicts with information they have already been told. But he also begins to realize that Big Brother and the Party are ideals. Ideals that will never die because the majority choose to believe in them and keep them alive. Winston doesn’t know how to survive in this world when he is constantly trying to hide his memories, to conceal any emotion because of the fear Big Brother has placed in him. It is not enough to exist but Winston doesn’t know if it’s worth it to rebel when his life will inevitably end in torture and death.
                Orwell produced, yet again, an amazing novel that highlights our fears of a totalitarian government. It produces then abolishes all hope for change and revolution. It is an extremely eye-opening and unsettling picture of the future that I am sure people in the 1940’s weren’t very pleased with envisioning. The novel was banned in Russia because many thought it reflected the rule under Stalin. In Florida the novel was banned because people thought it encouraged communism and because of its sexual tone. This seems to be a case of people simply being afraid of the material being produced, especially so soon after World War II. I believe it’s a warning. The year 1984 has passed and we have more means of communicating and educating ourselves, which should serve as protection from being taken advantage. Novels like 1984 are the tools we need to keep us on our toes, to stand up and fight. To be vigilant again the tyranny Orwell foresaw.

http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/classics/reasons  Retrieved 02/12/2014


Banned Books awareness: 1984 by R. Wolf Baldassarro (July 17,2011) 
http://bannedbooks.world.edu/2011/07/17/banned-books-awareness-1984/

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