George Orwell’s prophetic novel, 1984, predicts a dystopian future ruled by an ominpresent totalitarian government headed by one known (and loved) only as big brother. Through the story of an average citizen in London under this regime, Winston, Orwell chronicles the roots and history of this now dominant government force. He demonstrates that regimes such as “The Party” and their leader Big Brother develop slowly over time, and, in Big Brother’s case, harbor the power of fear to submit the masses in the name of security. Using feverish nationalism and a remarkable propaganda campaign, one spanning literally every facet of the mass media (including the ever-presence of the newly developed ‘tele-screens’ which constantly streamed pro-regime news while also acting as a surveillance camera to watch everyone, all the time) as well as a citizen removal and “re-education” program, Big Brother is able to maintain a rigid and stable hold upon the citizens under his control. Winston, who works in the state-run Ministry of Truth, destroying old documents which contradict government reports, begins to question the morality and necessity of “The Party” and Big Brother, and secretly decides to get some answers from something he believed everyone took for granted and refused to question.

Orwell wrote 1984 in 1949 in an attempt to predict the future, as he saw it, thirty-five years down the road. Unfortunately for Orwell, (though fortunately for all of us) he was too early in his predictions; the growing Domestic Surveillance program in the United States seems to echo back to Big Brother (phone taps, computer taps, traffic cameras, gps phones). The development of that program, as well as the creation of the Department of Homeland Security only strengthen the novel as one reads it, allowing a fresh perspective on the events at hand.

1984 is an excellent novel; written nearly sixty years ago, it is amazing how relevant the story seems to be even if its created in a fictional version of reality, Orwell lends his knowledge of politics, history, and human nature to paint an intelligently constructed and easily feasible future. Never does the reader feel that the story is ridiculous or absurd because Orwell has an inexplicable ‘realness’ in his style and is consistently thorough throughout the novel, as made evident in this excerpt:

“Outside, even through the shut window pane, the world looked cold. Down in the street little eddies of wind were whirling dust and torn paper into spirals, and though the sun was shining and the sky a harsh blue, there seemed to be no color in anything except the posters that were plastered everywhere. The black-mustachio’d face gazed down from every commanding corner. There was one on the house front immediately opposite. BIG BROTHER Is WATCHING YOU, the caption said, while the dark eyes looked deep into Winston’s own. Down at street level another poster, torn at one corner, flapped fitfully in the wind’ alternately covering and uncovering the single word INGSOC. In the far distance a helicopter skimmed down between the roofs, hovered for an instant like a blue-bottle, and darted away again with a curving flight. It was the Police Patrol, snooping into people’s windows. The patrols did not matter, however. Only the Thought Police mattered.”

Orwell paints for the reader a vivid picture of the bleakness of this vision of the future, but refrains from incorporating ray guns or rocket ships or anything that relates to the “Space Age” vision of the future. Orwell also unfolds the story in small increments, keeping the reader enthralled in Winston’s quest for answers in a world that seemed to have none. It is for these reasons that so many regard 1984 as one of the greatest novels of all time, with which I can only agree.

1984 was simply a novel written ahead of its time; many similarities are present in Orwell’s masterpiece are easily seen in present-day life, providing the reader with some sort of frame of reference through which one could imagine themselves living under the repressive Big Brother regime. It’s a must-read that will likely change the reader’s perspective of the role of government indefinitely.