spoiler visualizarLeonardo 30/11/2018
My Classic Book
Everyone have his or her own classic book. This is the one in which we find ourselves revisiting concepts in many moments of our lives, while it also and introduces us to a new and incredible genre or author. Therefore it changes our way to see the world. However, changes not only occur in this sense, but also in our unconscious feelings about life events, which were by the first time acknowledged and intensely felt while reading the book. The book which encompasses all of these aspects in my opinion is the cold and cruel dystopia 1984 by George Orwell.
1984 is indisputably the book to start the dystopia genre in Orwell’s works. Set in a totalitarian European state, personified as the Big Brother, which controls the truth and watches every step of its citizens, it established and redefined the genre. Presenting a compelling story, in this book we follow the life of Winston Smith, a middle class worker at the “Ministry of Truth”. There he takes care of the records and is in charge of modifying them according to the will of the Party. At the beginning, he is totally alienated by his work, however he starts to notice that his memories collide with what the Party says and, for the first time, he thinks that he is not wrong but the Party is. Meanwhile, he meets Julia and they fall in love, a feeling which is forbidden, so they share a desire for change and hate for the Big Brother.
Orwell’s masterpiece popularized concepts that became recurring neologisms in our society, showing its influence and importance. In 1984, the author introduces concepts like Newspeak, the language imposed by Big Brother to limit the freedom of expression through a restrict dialect which creates confusion in word meaning. Another one is Thoughtcrime, the act of thinking anything that is considered subversive; this is controlled through fear, and the restrict language develops in its citizens an instinct: when subversive thought appears, it is automatically purged by the individual himself.
The events and the scenery make an impact on the reader in such a way that he views the
world in two ways: before and after reading 1984. Orwell presents a hyperbole of an oppressive authoritarian government, where the Big Brother represents an omnipresent dictator. This dictator is not only the government, it is part of every citizen, ultimately resulting in a despotic society. The mixture of a meaningless language and complete lack of individualism, feelings and freedom turns everyone a part of the state. Although there is an intense fear and a distrust caused during the reading, a feeling of hope also rises within characters and is shared by the reader. However, this hope is completely subverted, assuring that a massage of no return from such loss of liberty prevails.
Summarizing, 1984 is a masterpiece, not only in the dystopia genre, but among books of all
genres. In spite of being published after the Second World War and at the beginning of the Cold War,
it never ceases to be a book up to date in its story and ideas. For those reasons I consider 1984 by
George Orwell my classic book.