"Big Brother is
watching you."
Whether or not
you've read that book, it's nearly impossible you have never
encountered this quote before. It's originally from the dystopian
novel 1984, by George Orwell, yet another classic I really had to
read someday.
Big Brother is the
leader (either the actual dictator or perhaps just a symbolic
figurehead) of Oceania, a totalitarian state where the ruling Party
wields total power over the inhabitants.
It is the state the
main character, Winston Smith, lives in. He is a lower member of the
party and works in the Ministry of Truth, entitled to change
historical information to portray the government and Big Brother in a
better light. Yet, Winston worries about the state, and keeps a diary
of his anti-government thoughts.
He meets Julia, a
young woman who confesses her love to him, and happens to share his
concerns about their government.
Winston is
approached by the Inner Party member O'Brien who pretends to be an
agent of the Brotherhood, a secret organization that intends to
destroy the Party, but it's actually a trap, and both him and Julia
end up being captured and tortured.
Eventually, they're
reintegrated into Oceania society, and we realize Winston no longer
resists the oppression and feels love while looking up at a Big
Brother poster
Through the whole
novel, Orwell warns against the danger of authoritarianism. He offers
us a devastating view of society where not only freedom of speech
does not exist, but the language itself has been degraded to such a
state it literally impacts freedom of thought.
While Orwell tackles
several themes like nationalism, futurology, censorship or
surveillance, he also combines them with brilliant and thrilling
narrative that will keep you hooked on the story and its flow of
events.
All in all, this
novel was extremely enjoyable, albeit horrific at times, and it truly
deserves its reputation as a masterpiece.
Whether you are
familiar or not with other similar stories like Brave New World or
Animal Farm, don't hesitate to read 1984 if you haven't already, you
won't be disappointed.
Cool words:
Aquiline: Relating
to or having the characteristics of an eagle.
Balminess: Mild and
pleasant
Embezzlement: To
take (money one has been entrusted with) for personal use.
Flog: Informal
To publicize aggressively
Jostle:
to force (one's way)
by pushing
Niggling: Annoying,
troubling, or irritating in a petty way
Shrewish:
Ill-tempered; nagging.
Wainscoting:
Paneling or woodwork
with which rooms, hallways, etc., are wainscoted.
Used in a story:
On his way to the
library in order to flog his new book, the tiny niggling dwarf with
an aquiline nose jostled the passersby who were enjoying the
balminess of the breeze. Huge was his surprise when the shrewish
dwarf later realized he would never be able to buy new marble
wainscoting for his room, because the contractor had embezzled all
the money from the book.
