The Rebels of Oceania

Danny Miller

1984
By George Orwell

I am amazed at the lack of awareness among the Party. Buildings are dilapidated, cities are in ruins, rations are decreasing and people are living with no shoes, but all anyone can think about is how great it is that the war is coming to an end.

Of course, there is no way to know if the war is actually coming to an end. There is no way to know anything, for that matter. Winston goes to work every day at the Records Department in the ironically named “Ministry of Truth,” where he alters documents, articles, statements, and anything that may be politically relevant, in order to align with what the government, and Big Brother, says, rather than what is factual.

The Ministry of Truth is just one of several ministries, all having names which imply the opposite of what they are. The Ministry of Peace, for example, deals with war. The Ministry of Plenty controls the rations people get, which are tend to be small amounts, such as the twenty grams chocolate ration. The Ministry of Love is in charge of Law and Order, or, in other words, torturing and killing people who defy the Party. They are all self contradictory, just like the Party Slogans:

“WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH” (4)

The contradictions are part of what makes this book a page-turner. When the author not only juxtaposes, but actually equates, things that are polar opposites, it gets the reader thinking, “Why don’t the people notice that the government is lying to them? Will they ever realize it? What will Winston do about it?”

Winston begins to gain a drive for rebellion, so he writes things in his journal that, if discovered, would surely get him executed, or, as Orwell calls it, “vaporized” (53). He also has a desire to defy the government’s views on procreational relationships, believing that sex is not just a “duty to the Party” (67) and that there must be a real connection involved.

It is precisely this type of defiance that makes the story intriguing. It foreshadows extreme conflict between Winston and the Party, and it begins to develop apprehension regarding Winston’s life. Everything he thinks and writes makes it evident to the reader that he is going to try to go against the Party, and perhaps to start a revolution.

I personally enjoy this book because it has encouraged me to begin to stand up for myself, which I am able to do under our government. The people in the society of 1984 must simply accept everything that comes to them, no matter how unfair or unreasonable, and this makes me realize the privileges that I have to be in a country where the people have many personal rights, a country where the media allows people to speak against the establishment.

It has also inspired me to stay more in touch with politics, since our government, at the moment, is in danger of moving toward semi-totalitarianism, with a leader who lies to his people constantly, silences people and groups of people he doesn’t like or agree with, and basically views himself as a king.

For this review, being my second one, I recommend George Orwell’s 1984 more now than I did in my first, as I am finding more reasons to enjoy it, and more possible lessons I can get out of it. I don’t just recommend it to people who are interested in politics; I would also recommend it to anyone who feels trapped, like they are unable to speak their minds for any reason, because I have a feeling that Winston is going to follow through with his thirst for rebellion.