Comprehensive Review of George Orwell's 1984: A Literary Analysis

This report is a review of George Orwell's dystopian novel, 1984, published in 1949. The review highlights the novel's eerie relevance to modern society, focusing on themes of constant surveillance, media manipulation, and totalitarian control. It delves into the characteristics of Oceania, the role of the 'Big Brother,' and the Ministry of Truth's propaganda. The report explores the concepts of 'thought crimes' and 'Newspeak,' and their implications on thought and expression. It draws parallels between the novel's themes and real-world examples, such as North Korea and the use of media to manufacture consent. The review also discusses the novel's shared themes with other works like Animal Farm, and it concludes with a warning about the dangers of unchecked government power. The target audience for this review is college students studying international politics, and it may be published in college publication journals.

Running head: 1984
Review of Orwell’s 1984
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Genre: Dystopian Fiction
Review:
1984 is a dystopian novel written by the English writer George Orwell and published
in 1949. The novel has eerie resemblance with that of our modern society where our online
activities, whereabouts and communications can be monitored and anyone can get spied upon
and surveillance systems are becoming stronger every year. 1984 predicts of a future where
our actions as well as our very thoughts are under constant surveillance and control and
where media is used to ‘manufacture consent’1.
The novel revolves around the central character, Winston Smith who lives in a future
state called Oceania, which is a country under totalitarian dictatorship. Winston is employed
in the Ministry of Truth, which can be as a propaganda tool for the government. The leader of
the government is referred to as the ‘Big Brother’ who constantly watches over Oceania. The
government, under the authority of Big Brother constantly surveys its citizens of their
behavior and thoughts, and every dissident thought is considered as a thought crime and
deemed punishable2. The ministry also actively manipulates all historical data and records in
order to misinform the people and control them. Even though the novel is a work of fiction,
but echoes of such stories can be seen in the real world3. Countries like North Korea or
1 Rodden, John. George Orwell: The Politics of Literary Reputation. Routledge, 2017.
2 Saunders, Loraine. The unsung artistry of George Orwell: the novels from Burmese days to
Nineteen eighty-four. Routledge, 2016.
3 Dahrendorf, Ralf. "Out of utopia: toward a reorientation of sociological analysis." In
Utopia, pp. 103-126. Routledge, 2017.

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Eritrea shows how a totalitarian regime can control its population through propaganda media
and control the people with an iron fist. While, leaked secret reports on Wikipedia that
showed intelligence agencies like CIA and MI6 were involved in spying on its own citizens
shows how close the novel is to reality that we would like to acknowledge4.
Usage of media to persuade the people towards the agendas of the government or the
owners of the media and publication houses have been described by Noam Chomsky in
‘Media Lies’ and ‘Manufacturing Consent’ where here used the examples of US Media
Houses under Nixon Administration changing the popular opinion towards war and
‘manufacturing consent’ for US to invade Vietnam through carefully told lies. Such aspects
can clearly be seen in the actions of the Ministry of Truth in the novel where it keeps its
people misinformed about the government’s failures5.
The novel also introduced two very important terms, namely ‘thought crimes’ and
‘Newspeak’ which also have several important implications in our current world. Newspeak
is a new language that has been developed by the government in which any word that can be
considered to be rebellious or even provoke rebellion is eliminated and replaced with a
different word. Even though it might sound as a benign action, its impact can be very
significant. Studies show that language significantly affects how we think, and thus changing
language actually can change how we think. This strategy can also somewhat be correlated
with the concept of ‘political correctness’ in media where a self-imposed regulation is
followed, censoring everything that can be considered to be provocative to the society. Gorge
4 Hollis, Christopher. A study of George Orwell: the man and his works. Skyhorse Publishing
Inc., 2017.
5 Rodden, John. George Orwell: The Politics of Literary Reputation. Routledge, 2017.

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Carlin once stated his politically correct language as ‘soft language’ and it did nothing but
fool people6.
Thought crimes on the other hand is the concept of having wrong thoughts or ideas.
Obedience to the government must occur not only at the level of actions but also at the level
of thoughts or the very cognitive processes. This reflects upon an almost total form of mind
control over the people where no one can even think, let even act against the government.
What they do, but what they think about the government, and any sign of deviancy observed
by them or reported by neighbors are met with the harshest of punishments. The detention
centers of 1984 can also be compared to the ‘gulags’ In North Korea where dissidents are
incarcerated for up to three generations to absolve a crime. Children are born inside the
camps to the prisoners and the, marital visits are also strictly controlled by the authorities7.
In both 1984 as well as Animal Farm a shared theme of betrayed revolution,
subordination of the individuality to collectivism, class differences, cult of personality,
through police, concentration camp, regimented compulsory daily activities and youth
leagues. The society of Oceania can also be compared to the communist Soviet Union under
Stalin. The daily ritualized television broadcast of the ‘enemies of state’ program showing
Emmanuel Goldstein as a public enemy can be compared to the campaigns of Stalin where
Trotsky was shows as the enemy of the state8.
6 Saunders, Loraine. The unsung artistry of George Orwell: the novels from Burmese days to
Nineteen eighty-four. Routledge, 2016.
7 Hammond, John. A George Orwell companion: a guide to the novels, documentaries and
essays. Springer, 2016.

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Overall, the novel paints a bleak picture of a failed democracy and a perfect
totalitarianism, warning us of the real dangers when we the freedom and rights of the people
are taken over by the government and subjugated in the name of control.
Target Population (where it will be published):
The target population of this review is mainly college students studying international
politics. The novel might be able to foster a new perspective into our current world condition.
The review can therefore be published in college publication journals.
8 Hollis, Christopher. A study of George Orwell: the man and his works. Skyhorse Publishing
Inc., 2017.

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References:
Dahrendorf, Ralf. "Out of utopia: toward a reorientation of sociological analysis." In Utopia,
pp. 103-126. Routledge, 2017.
Hammond, John. A George Orwell companion: a guide to the novels, documentaries and
essays. Springer, 2016.
Hollis, Christopher. A study of George Orwell: the man and his works. Skyhorse Publishing
Inc., 2017.
Rodden, John. George Orwell: The Politics of Literary Reputation. Routledge, 2017.
Saunders, Loraine. The unsung artistry of George Orwell: the novels from Burmese days to
Nineteen eighty-four. Routledge, 2016.