Author: George Orwell
Title: 1984
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Date: June 8, 1949
Number of Pages: 328
Time Period: 1984?
Series (If applicable): N/A
Plot Summary:
1984 follows the trials and tribulations of Winston Smith. Winston lives in Oceania. Oceania is controlled by the Party whose leader is called Big Brother. It’s unclear whether Big Brother is an actual person or just a fabrication of the Party. The Patry controls everything, including thought, the present, and the past. The people of Oceania are under constant surveillance, even at home. Microphones are planted everywhere outside in order to catch any traitors. The exception to this surveillance is the Proles, the working-class masses with all the menial jobs. The Party considers them too ignorant and lazy to pose a viable threat. In addition to constant surveillance, the Party is ceaselessly editing the past and controlling information flow. If someone is arrested as a thought criminal their entire existence is erased. If Oceania changes who they are at war with, the entire history is amended to make it look like they have always been at war with that particular entity. The Party is never wrong and can never be perceived as having made a mistake.
Winston is part of what is known as the Outer Party, situated above the Proles, but below the Inner Party (High-level members). He works rewriting articles and such to make them line up with the current Party line. Winston starts to suspect that the Party is lying about almost everything. This is considered a thought crime so he knows it’s only a matter of time before he’s arrested. He starts seeing a young woman secretly, rents a secret room above an antique store, and even joins the Brotherhood (a supposed resistance group no one is sure actually exists). But in a country where no one can be trusted, did Winston put his trust in the right people? Will he survive the consequences awaiting him? Can the Party be brought down?
Subject Headings: Dystopia, Science Fiction, Classics, Politics
Appeal
Language/style: According to Wyatt and Saricks, “Literary fiction readers appreciate complex language and interesting style.” (2019) 1984 certainly hits both of these appeals with ease. In creating the fictionalized world of 1984, Orwell uses words such as proles (presumably short for proletariats) without explanation and even creates a language called “Newspeak.” 1984 has an interesting style in that it is fully written from the main character's point of view, so the reader only ever knows as much as the main character. The main character is often fuzzy on details, like what year it is exactly, which leaves the reader equally unsure.
Characterization: “Characters in Literary Fiction are distinct and memorable; they are richly realized, specific, and “of themselves.” These characters have rich interior worlds that readers are invited to enter and explore.” (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019) The main character in 1984 is Winston Smith. Winston is the filter through which the reader experiences the story. Because the story is told from his point of view, he is a richly described character. The reader learns all about where he lives, where he works, and his daily routine. Additionally, as Winston is the narrator the reader spends a lot of time in his head as he tries to figure out what is going on in his country and how he should respond. This is especially true when he is in prison and much of what is going on is his internal monologue.
Story line: In Literary Fiction “story lines are thought-provoking. Endings are often open or ambiguous.” (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019) 1984 is nothing if not thought-provoking. It’s a cautionary tale of the kind of society fascism and an ignorant populace can lead to. It also very much has an ambiguous ending. The reader is left with more questions than answers. And it is by no means a happy ending, which according to Wyatt and Saricks is also not an uncommon feature of Literary Fiction.
Pacing: “Literary Fiction is almost never fast-paced. Authors pride themselves on the layers of meaning in their works, which take time to discover and savor.” 1984 is definitely slow paced. Orwell takes his time letting the story unfold and introducing the reader to the many facets of Oceania, Winston’s life, and the places in which they intersect.
Tone: The tone of Literary Fiction according to Wyatt & Saricks, “may be dark because of the seriousness of the issues considered.” 1984 definitely falls into this category. Extreme fascism, oppression, and torture do not make for a happy read.
3 terms that best describe this book: ominous, intense, prophetic
Similar Authors and Works (why are they similar?):
3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors
Churchill and Orwell: The fight for freedom by Thomas E. Ricks
This is a dual biography of Churchill and Orwell and their roles in preserving democracy against the dual threats of communism and fascism. It is a relevant read because it is about the author of 1984, Orwell, and it even touches on 1984 itself.
The Devil and Karl Marx: Communism’s long march of death, deception, and infiltration by Paul Kengor
I chose this book as a relevant read because it’s about Karl Marx, the man behind the Communist Manifesto. 1984 definitely has some elements of communism. Some even consider it a critique of the communist society in then USSR. Thus, a book about the creator of communism seems apropos.
Fascism: a warning by Madeleine Korbel Albright with Bob Woodward
In this book former U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright discusses fascism and the dangers in continues to pose even today. This is relevant because 1984 is also a caution against fascism, a society controlled, often violently, by the ideology of one or few.
3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
This is a good read-a-like for 1984 because they both have a bleak and though-provoking tone. They are also both about dystopian futures. Lastly, they are both considered classics. Novelist also suggest this as a read-a-like for 1984.
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I chose this as a read-a-like because it is another story of a dystopian future. Other things that make it a good read-a-like are that it is a character-driven story line like 1984 and it also shares a bleak tone with 1984.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
This may seem like an odd choice, but it is another dystopian future story line. I would also qualify it as a character-driven plot. Like 1984 it is told exclusively from the point of view of the main character. While Ready Player One might have a slightly more playful tone it’s still set in a troubled and dark world.
Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood
Handmaids Tale is a good read-a-like for 1984 because they share multiple appeal factors. They both have character driven storylines. They both have complex, introspective characters and a leisurely pace. Lastly, they share a disturbing, bleak, and thought-provoking tone. In addition to the shared appeal factors they are both dystopian future novels. They are both prophetic and all too realistic visons of where humanity could be headed.
References:
“Novelist: EBSCO.” Novelist, https://www.ebsco.com/novelist.
Wyatt, N., & Saricks, J. G. (2019). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction (Third). ALA Editions.
I haven't read or thought about 1984 since high school! What a throwback, haha. I think your fiction readalikes were spot on -- speculative literature is especially relevant today, as we see a lot of schools/states trying to put book bans into place. Coincidentally enough, they often try to ban 1984.
ReplyDeleteHi Megan,
DeleteWe didn't read it at my school and I was always curious so this seemed a like a good opportunity to get it off my tbr list. :) That being said, I don't know if I would made it through it if I hadn't been reading it for a class. It was just so depressing! Oof..
Tasha,
ReplyDeleteWow! Dark, dark, dark this book is, especially when you don't know if the threat is physically real or not. This is supposed to be a classic, and I think I can understand why since its seems to be more about internal corruption than external. I can see why this book was challenged throughout the years. These kinds of books I don't turn to because of depression. I don't know how you got throught it.
Bre
Hi Tasha,
ReplyDeleteI know George Orwell’s 1984 was, and perhaps is still commonly read in high schools, but, as you said in response to a classmate’s comment, I also did not read this book in high school. Instead, I read Orwell’s Animal Farm, which I remember little about, but believe shares similar themes to 1984.
A similarity between 1984 and the book I chose for this week, The School for Good Mothers, is that the government, or a government-like entity, like The Party, controls citizens' actions through fear tactics and extreme regulations. In my book, Child Protective Services puts a camera and microphone in the main character, Frida’s house. Child Protective Services does this after Frida gets in legal trouble for leaving her daughter, only a little older than a year, at home for hours while she goes to work and for a drive. How the surveillance worked in my book was that “the state [] collect[ed] footage from a live video feed . . . they[] [also] track[ed] calls and texts and voice mails and Internet and app use” (Chan, 2022, p. 27). Interestingly, however, unlike 1984, where it seems the citizens have no form of rebuttal, in my book, although Frida also had no autonomy in whether Child Protective Services put cameras in her house, she still has to “consent to the surveillance” (Chan, 2022, p. 27).
The power that The Party has that can change the course of the world is frightening, especially today, in such a politically fraught climate where censorship is constant. You say they control thought and history; does that mean The Party erases individual people’s memories, or do they alter the collective’s memory?
Orwell's choice to tell the story from the perspective of an unreliable narrator was a smart decision; had a reliable narrator told the story, it would not have been believable. The Party wants to keep their citizens without free thought so they cannot work to overthrow The Party.
Your nonfiction read-alikes are good choices, especially for readers without any or very much prior knowledge about communism or fascism or who want more education on these topics. I also think you chose well for your fiction read-alikes, focusing on the dystopian nature of these books, how the dystopias affect the citizens living in it, and how, from what little I know about these novels, the dystopian setting is a vessel for commentary about power.
References:
Chan, J. (2022). The school for good mothers. Simon & Schuster.
Hi Lexi,
ReplyDeleteI read Animal Farm in high school too. I was not a fan so what made me think I would like 1984 is beyond me. lol
To answer you question the Party doesn't exactly erase memories, it's more like brainwashing. They control all information past and present. So when something happens that goes against what they predicted instead of changing the out come, they go back and change any reference to it in any recorded medium to make it look like they were right in their prediction all along. And because there is no longer any record of it, even if people suspect or even know that something was changed there is no proof. So everyone just kind of goes along with and pretty soon they start believing the first prediction never happened. I hope that made sense. It's kind of hard to explain. As much as I would like to contend that people wouldn't be that gullible in real life, we've had ample proof in recent years to the contrary. sigh.
I agree the unreliable narrator was a good choice. Winston starts off by saying he thinks it's 1984, but he's not really sure, no one is really sure what the date is. The read is immediately unsettled/unsure and continues to be. It adds to the overall disturbing feel of the story.
Hi Tasha, I like that you included two readalikes that are considered to be more on the YA end of the spectrum. I also did this on my nonfiction annotation as well. I think that there are plenty of adults who like reading YA and New Adult novels, that keeping them in mind as similar reads is a good idea.
ReplyDeleteFantastic job! This certainly is a classic and your readalikes are spot on. Full points!
ReplyDelete