Review 1984 (A Novel by George Orwell)
April 17, 2019
Seeing flyers or posters on the streets is a common thing, isn’t it? Obviously, I bet everyone often sees some posters with different designs and writings. But what would happen if the poster seemed to pay attention to us because it was installed in large numbers and spread at several "strategic" points. A poster depicting a face with two dark eyes that were designed so as to follow the people around him. The poster also features the words "Big Brother is watching you".
Well, hi peeps! Welcome.
The
book that I will review at this moment is 1984. A legendary book that written
by George Orwell. Although titled 1984, in fact, this book was written in 1949,
as if the author was predicting the condition of a country in the future. In
this case, England. While reading this book, we must be sensitive to find some
signs and catch the meaning. Because this is one of the books that is quite
complex and need kind of high effort and precision in the process of the
reading. Furthermore, this novel is able to release itself from the text until
the views expressed can be a new glasses to see another aspects.
Through
the point of view of the main character, the reader will be shown how
authoritarian power works and survives by utilizing the limitations of human
thinking. As some people have the belief that the fate of society tends to be
shaped by the dominant power system, and this book tells the process
specifically.
In
the story, a character, Winston Smith, a party member, felt very anxious
because of the emergence of his awareness of the cruelty of the power system
without being able to search for the truth about the anxiety. Smith worked in
the truth department which was tasked with removing and producing the truth
according to the party's needs, his experiences working in the department made
him familiar with an activity called manipulation. By the way, he was both a devotee
and a Party hater.
The
storytelling in this book is extraordinary. It feels so real, it penetrates
into the daily life. How people are always watched by a tool called teleskrin.
The tool works like CCTV, but monitors it interactively, even able to detect
gestures and expressions, so that no suspicious gestures can endanger the
party. If someone shows suspicious signs, the person will be arrested,
tortured, and removed. Besides, it is also illustrated how difficult the supply
of several things, and there are still many other ironies. The way the writer
describes the details is so amazing and it is able to make some people worry
that it will really happen in the future.
Overall,
this novel is indeed worth mentioning as legendary reading. Visionary writings,
harsh social criticism, strong storylines, unique features of the world of
dystopia all blended into books worth reading throughout the ages.***
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