Nineteen Eighty-Four is a
dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical
dictatorship of the Party. Life in the Oceanian province of Airstrip One
is a world of perpetual war, pervasive government surveillance, and
incessant public mind control, accomplished with a political system
euphemistically named English Socialism (Ingsoc), which is administrated
by a privileged Inner Party elite. Yet they too are subordinated to the
totalitarian cult of personality of Big Brother, the deified Party
leader who rules with a philosophy that decries individuality and reason
as thoughtcrimes; thus the people of Oceania are subordinated to a
supposed collective greater good. The protagonist, Winston Smith, is a
member of the Outer Party who works for the Ministry of Truth
(Minitrue), which is responsible for propaganda and historical
revisionism. His job is to re-write past newspaper articles so that the
historical record is congruent with the current party ideology. Because
of the childhood trauma of the destruction of his family — the
disappearances of his parents and sister — Winston Smith secretly hates
the Party, and dreams of rebellion against Big Brother.
As literary political fiction and as dystopian science-fiction, Nineteen Eighty-Four is a classic novel in content, plot, and style. Many of its terms and concepts, such as Big Brother, doublethink, thoughtcrime, Newspeak, and memory hole, have become contemporary vernacular since its publication in 1949. Moreover, Nineteen Eighty-Four popularised the adjective Orwellian, which refers to official deception, secret surveillance, and manipulation of the past in service to a totalitarian or manipulative political agenda.
As literary political fiction and as dystopian science-fiction, Nineteen Eighty-Four is a classic novel in content, plot, and style. Many of its terms and concepts, such as Big Brother, doublethink, thoughtcrime, Newspeak, and memory hole, have become contemporary vernacular since its publication in 1949. Moreover, Nineteen Eighty-Four popularised the adjective Orwellian, which refers to official deception, secret surveillance, and manipulation of the past in service to a totalitarian or manipulative political agenda.
