1984 Book Review Essay Research Paper Through

1984 Book Review Essay, Research Paper

Through chilling glimpses of a future that could have been, and bleak outlooks at life, George Orwell conveys a message of warning, and of hope, for all the people of the world. 1984 is a perfect example of a negative look at society. It serves as not only a warning to what the future may become, but also as a constant reminder that everything is relative, and when one is left with no comparisons, any situation can seem normal.

If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever

The protagonist in the story is a man by the name of Winston Smith. Starting with his name, it is clear the author planned his character out to the last detail. Take the last name Smith, for example, which is one of the most popular last names in America this allows the reader to relate more to the character. In addition, if you look at his first name, Winston, you would notice that it happens to be the name of a key person from Orwell s time, Winston Churchill. When combined with his last name, the readers are left with the impression of a sort of hero, with a vague relation to themselves. Winston is a sad man, in that he takes things as they come, and does not extract joy or excitement out of any situation. His personality, for lack of a better term, is boring. Everything is plain and ordinary to him. However, deep inside of him is a virtue that shines through as the novel progresses, and that is his human instinct to want to know the truth, and to rise up and live better. It is almost heroic how he silently stands for what he believes in, and knowing the consequences of going against The Party were severe, he still pushed forward. Physically, Winston is about average compared to the others in the novel. He is missing a few teeth, has worn skin, and tired joints. He is a man of around 39 years of age, and is not fat, and not overly skinny. He is a quiet, non-assertive person, and goes along with any Party event, so as not to look suspicious. He is the sympathetic character in the novel, because people can relate to his situations.

The antagonist in the story is a man named simply as O Brien. O Brien, throughout most of the story, was a mysterious fellow, with an old, tired, yet trustworthy face. The reader gets the impression he is a friend to Smith s plot. However, 2/3 of the way through the book, O Brien turns against Smith and Julia and reveals himself as the leader of the thought-police, an organization within the Party responsible for punishing people who thought of, or actually committed crimes. O Brien reflects everything that is hated in modern society, and at the same time he is everything that the Party represents. He is the friend of Winston, but at the same time his enemy. He is the man, beyond everyone else, that strives for power just for the sake of having power. He is also the leader of the Party that Smith actually confronts, and as such is Smith s main conflict.

Some of the supporting characters included an attractive young woman named Julia, who becomes Winston s love interest somewhere before the midpoint of the novel. If Winston is the intellectual rebel against the Party, then Julia is definitely the physical rebel. She does not really think about the rules much, but she knows she likes to do anything possible to break them. Another supporting character is Big Brother himself (or the poster of him that is). The description Orwell gives of the man on the poster would almost give the idea that it was Stalin, and that he had started the whole thing. Big Brother is present in nearly every scene of the novel, and is a key, yet silent, player throughout the entire novel. He is the driving force behind the Party, and its attempts toward absolute power.

The entire story is set to the backdrop of an ongoing war in the mid nineteen eighties. Sometime in the 1950 s, numerous atomic bombs had ripped through most of the America s and European nations, destroying their governments, and sending the world into political and economic turmoil. This setting of despair, and utter hopelessness served as a perfect catalyst for the Party to come to full power. Although the only city the book talks about in any detail is London, it is made clear that other cities must be the same because of the Party s attitudes. London, in 1984, was nothing like it was before the Revolution. It had turned into a dark, desolate place, filled with slums, and overflowing with filth. A few buildings from the past, now changed to be nearly unrecognizable, stood out among the Ministry buildings of the Party. This new world, devastated by nuclear war and poverty, shows the West as a totalitarian government, with an almighty dictator, known simply as Big Brother. A political figure and religious leader all in one, Big Brother’s power is so absolute that some people doubt if he even exists at all. The streets in the slums are hit by rocket bombs at random intervals, sending the people into a frenzy, and making them blame the country they are currently at war with.

Winston Smith becomes a Thought Criminal. An Outer Party member, his job is to actually rewrite the archives of the London Times so that they match current Ingsoc (English Socialism) policy. When Ingsoc changes its alliance with another superpower and begins waging war on its previous ally, Winston’s job is to rewrite all the previous informat