Book Study: 1984 by George Orwell

Hi there and welcome to another book review from my blog. Today I decided to go back in time to an old book I read back in secondary school. It is 1984 by George Orwell. The book is quite old but what stood out for me from this book is the world George Orwell created in his book.

A statement that stuck with me from the book is

“Big Brother is watching you.”

The statement is always striking because I remember how we used to joke about this statement big brother is watching in school. I would tease the art students in my class whenever they do anything silly, big brother is watching. It is funny that I was not an art student but I was quite fond of the books they read in literature class which one of them happened to be 1984. The novel 1984 from George Orwell was one of the recommended literature books for the West African Examination Curriculum back then. Which means it had to be red by those who wanted to write literature exams.

Right from the quote about Big brother is watching, one could mistake it for a statement that some big man somewhere is watching over us and every single thing we do. Well that is not the entire case for George Orwell when he made this statement in his 1984 novel. He was making reference to the world of 1984 where people in this world where being controlled and constantly watched. They lived in a world where what they had to say was censored, they were watched closely in case they wanted to express themselves that was beyond how they were expected to act.

So the statement of Big brother watching was not a thing about be watched alone, it was a message being sent across to instigate fear into the heart and mind of the people. To give them the constant reminder that they should not do whatever they like because they are being watched.

The novel talks about Winston Smith, a man living in the world of 1984. A world were surveillance is the watch word. Although Winston disguises as an obedient citizen, he still has some doubts about the way things are being done. He questions the system and the party in charge silently with his notes in his diary, which by the way is against the rules. His silent rebellion show how devastated Winston has become in the world he currently finds himself. Nothing is left unturned by party as they instigate fear into the hearts of the people inorder to make them fall in line. This in return keeps Winston at a state of doubt filled with perplexity. Are they truly watching? Is big brother seeing my questionable moves and writings. Can he really see everything.

The interesting part about the book for me, is despite the fact that we don't live in the world of 1984 that George Orwell created, it still feels like it is not over. Are we still being watched and when you think about it, there are so many ways to keep tabs on a person compared to the time of 1984. There's social media, GPS trackers and our phones that can ping our location. So it's easier to say that if it was now, big brother will be able to keep tabs on us easily than 1984. 1984 is a classic and I recommend it if you have not read it.

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_{I am @samostically, a chess player and writer. I love to share the experience I have gained from different battles over the 64 squares and the knowledgeable insights from books I have read. But most importantly, I am a Midnight Owl and I founded the community Midnight Letters.}

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Thanks For Reading!