1984

This summer with advice from my parents I decided to read George Orwell's novel, 1984. I started into this book expecting a book along the lines of Animal Farm the story, which I didn't thoroughly enjoy as a young 7th grader. Nevertheless, 1984 was a story that mentally stimulated me as few have in my short lifetime and I loved it. Therefore, I believe 1984 as a whole was an example of masterful storytelling, but I'll key in on a two examples that separated it from many other fantastic stories I have read. Orwell’s character portrayals, especially those of Winston and O’Brian, along with his well thought out political purpose, make this book a great piece of storytelling.

In 1984, Orwell creates excellent portrayals of characters making them relatable in a seemingly un-relatable world. First off, Orwell's characterization of Winston Smith is excellent, which he accomplishes by taking the reader inside Winston's thought process and showing the reader what Winston is seeing and feeling, all while using the third person. Orwell soon proceeds to express the difference between Winston and the other members of the society by introducing the diary and, therefore, his desire to take a stand against his society. Winston's desire to stand up to society is authentically heroic and the most interesting thing is he knows that he is destined for death once the idea of fighting the established order arises in him, but he still decides to fight. His sense of death is represented by the phrase he constantly uses throughout the book, "Now he had recognized himself as a dead man it became important to stay alive as long as possible."(Orwell, 36) Nevertheless, coinciding with Orwell's final political message his hero Winston gives into the oppressive establishment and becomes an obedient member of society through unbearable torture.

Another character in Orwell’s novel that really stands out as an impressive character is O'Brian's, which is nearly flawless. O'Brian plays Winston and the reader like a card, he poses as a member of the resistance and he somehow reads Winston's mind through his body language. He even goes so far as to reveal himself as loyal to the party in a way no one is able to conceive at the time when he assures Winston, "We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness,” (308). Then by the end he unveils his seemingly seamless disguise and turns into the most loyal party member of them all villianizing himself to all those engaged in the story. Then O'Brian represents himself as a human manifestation of the party telling Winston that Winston is mentally deranged for remembering anything that existed before the party, and says, " Fortunately it is curable" (310). O’Brian proceeds to isolate Winston as the only remaining rebel and slowly turn him into a loyal member of society before he is exterminated from this so-called “perfect society”. This total one-eighty was a pure stroke of genius for Orwell as it really got his viewpoint across. Though these two characters are Orwell’s Pièce de résistance, Orwell does a good job of making all of his characters fit into his political message.

Even character with as small of a role as Parsons, who seems as though he is the embodiment of the party, has a significant purpose by the end of the book. In the beginning Parsons is portrayed as a man who would never betray the party and by the end the reader still feels this way. However, because he talks against the party in his sleep he is given up by his own children and therefore is captured and meets Winston in the place of no return. Even at this point he denies that the party is wrong in their purpose, “You don’t think the Party would arrest an innocent man, do you?”(294). Parsons represents the blind loyalty most citizens have to this all-powerful party, and how it still can backfire on them, expressing the hypocrisy of the society.

In 1984, Orwell does a fantastic job of portraying his strong political message through all means available to him. Orwell uses the observations of Winston to portray all the wrongs in the modern society on an individual level without outright saying it. Then Orwell uses O’Brian’s falsified rebellion novel as a way to express the wrongs in the modern society at a much larger level while also expressing how the national governments are able to obtain such absolute power by outright saying it, but in a clever enough way as to tie it in with the story. Then by using his well developed plot line Orwell describes the futility of fighting such a society by showing that the whole secret life Winston seemed to be getting away with was all a set up. Winston’s life had become a study on rebellion for government officials, such as O’Brian, starting with the bookstore in the proles’ side of town that he first committed thought-crime within. Mr. Charrington was seemingly just an old man with a secret room without a telescreen, but by the end we learn he was a thought police. This wasn’t the only thing that led to Winston’s downfall, as O’Brian reveals they tracked his every move and knew of all his crimes, which Winston thought they were very cautious to do in secret. The one thing Orwell's story doesn't make clear is why O'Brian and the others lead him on for so much longer than was necessary. Once they decided he was insubordinate to Big Brother why did they keep leading him on instead of arresting him earlier? Nevertheless, Orwell's political views are very interesting and the detail that he uses in discussing them is extremely impressive.

The whole premise of Orwell’s novel was to portray an all-powerful government and the need for people to rebel as a united force as not to allow such a government to ensure total control over the world. Through his characters, setting, and plot he really managed to express his objective. Nevertheless, it was this political philosophy as well as his near flawless incorporation of all his characters that really made this novel a great piece of story telling.