"1984" ჯორჯ ორუელი "1984" George Orwell

"1984" is one of the most recognizable dystopian works by the English writer and essayist George Orwell. It explores the tearing apart of the human mind by a brutal and inhumane political regime (and its subsequent reassembly into a mold chosen by the torturer), the establishment of a civilization built on fear, constant surveillance, thought control, and the corruption of human spirituality until nothing remains of people but hollowed-out, lifeless husks devoid of reason. Indeed, the driving force of the Party was the destruction of elevated feelings, human emotions, natural instincts, and eye-opening thoughts.

The protagonist of the book is Winston Smith - a member of the Outer Party, yet an inner rebel and an individual distinct from the meager consciousness of the herd driven by instincts. Winston opposes a society that is not attuned to the grandeur of nature, the heavens, and life in general, or the eternity of spirituality; each of its members is deprived of the ability to comprehend the world and express their individualism. Everyone single-mindedly worships the so-called "Big Brother" (the question of whether this figure actually exists remains up for debate). At work, Smith is tasked with falsifying facts, presenting the Party’s illusion of benevolence and mercy, and essentially rewriting history.

The explicit manifestation of the main character’s rebellious nature begins when he starts pouring rebellious thoughts, unpleasant memories, and a faintly flickering spark of hope into his secretly purchased diary. Added to this is the start of a love affair with his coworker, Julia. The latter shares Winston’s views on the Party's corruption and barbaric political rule. The couple secretly rents a room on the second floor of a charming antique shop located in the domain of the proles. (The so-called lower class—the mass of people who were not considered human and deemed unworthy of attention—were referred to as the proletariat. Their voice, rights, and way of life were no different from those of animals, yet they represented the most honorable and free inhabitants of Oceania. It was in their blood that the unknown, yet restless desire for rebellion and victory over the Party surged; their heart was the core for the mantle of independence and the crust of humanity). The owner of the shop is Mr. Charington, who, like Winston, feels great sympathy toward the remnants of the past. A mesmerizing atmosphere of a magnificent past hangs over the small room: walls filled with photographs and inscriptions from the previous century, antique furniture, and a kind of enchanting safety.

Unfortunately, Mr. Charington and Winston's coworker O'Brien turn out to be spies for the "Thought Police" and send the star-crossed lovers to the Ministry of Love. Paradoxical to its name, this was a place where people were tortured, subjected to immense psychological and physical harm, broken internally, stripped of their most human, dignified, and elevated feelings, hollowed out, and ultimately killed—or, defeated within themselves, allowed to spend the rest of their lives with a scarred, wounded spirit and a heart filled with love for Big Brother. In Winston's case, the second outcome proved true. O'Brien managed to shatter the most cherished, radiant talisman held in Winston's heart: his love for Julia. He forced the man to betray his beloved and sacrifice her to save himself. Returned to a corrupt society and a seemingly "normal" life, Winston realizes that he loves Big Brother...

Beyond the overt, constant control and bloody repressions carried out by the Party, a slow yet far-sighted process developed by them is also noteworthy: the establishment of the so-called "Newspeak." According to linguistic determinism, language is a necessary prerequisite for having thoughts. Newspeak aimed primarily to narrow, distort, and reduce the vocabulary and grammar of the English language to a primitive level. Through this, any forms expressing an anti-engsoc narrative in the thinking of new generations would completely disappear. If those subject to engsoc could not verbalize rebellion, they could not think about it either. As Orwell notes in the novel's appendix, "Newspeak was designed not to extend but to diminish the range of thought. This purpose was indirectly assisted by cutting the choice of words down to a minimum."

"1984" is an astonishing, timeless novel that vividly illustrates the destruction caused by totalitarianism, the consequences of physical and psychological manipulation, the severe regression brought on by the control of all information, technology, and consequently history and the human mind, as well as the themes of worshiping and idolizing a specific individual.