Reflection on George Orwell's, 1984

There are many reasons why I enjoyed reading Orwell’s, 1984.  Firstly, it reminded me of a good book I read last summer.  The book was called, “The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” written by Junot Diaz.  While 1984 and Oscar Wao are very different, they are also very similar in that they were both written to seem non-fictional, but both books include fantastical references and fictional concepts.  Take, for example, Orwell’s description of a London that he predicted would come to existence in the year 1984.  Not only did he describe a plausible, very dreary city, but he also predicted a society in which communism and totalitarianism ruled over all.  The “Party” he described as the form of government that existed in this “society” fit the description of later political parties in Europe.  His descriptions of children dressing in “blue shorts, gray shirts, and red neckerchiefs which were the uniform of the Spies” reminded me so much of the brainwashing and psychological manipulation that took place in Europe during times of political turmoil and transition (23).  I often thought of Hitler and his reign while reading about how the society described in 1984 was controlled by a totalitarian government.

1984 also reminded me very much of Orwell’s other well-known novel, Animal Farm.  While he could not have known precisely how historical events would play out in actuality, Orwell’s predictions of Communism in Russia were incredibly accurate.  I found that his take on the world that would exist in 1984 was also extremely close to being true to the society that would really come into existence.  During the cold war, Europe did, in fact, greatly resemble the society Orwell illustrated.  While many fantastical aspects of the society Orwell predicted were too far-fetched to actually come to fruition (the “though police” did not actually come into existence, though the concept of spying on others in the hopes of catching them disobeying the rules of the government became an actual occurrence), much of what he wrote about in 1984 did exist later in history.  His prediction of a totalitarian, omnipotent force in Europe was accurate. 

Though I’m not a big fan of fiction, I did enjoy the fact that Orwell created a world in which many actual historical events later mirrored by his predictions.  I wonder how he could have guessed how communism and totalitarianism were going to affect the societies they governed.  Orwell’s conclusions about the future nature of European society were amazingly precise.  For me, this factor made 1984 more enjoyable.  The combination of Orwell’s ability to write well and the subject matter he focused on made this novel quite an interesting read.