Published 1949 / Length 311 pages
The year is 1984, the setting Oceania; society is controlled by the Party, led by the godlike Big Brother. The increasingly disillusioned protagonist, Winston Smith, begins writing a diary (a crime, as free thought is banned). Soon afterwards, he is approached by Julia, whom he suspects may be a kindred spirit. But in this authoritarian world, deciding whom to trust is fraught with danger. Dare Winston risk all in pursuit of barely imagined freedom? Heavy with symbolism and warning, yet lucid and accessible, Orwell’s gripping dystopian tale of rebellion, love, fear and political control is recognized as one of the most influential books ever written.
‘Nineteen Eighty-Four is a work of pure horror … a society which has as its single aim the total destruction of the individual identity … [It is] the most contemporary novel of this year and who knows of how many past and to come.’ – The Times, 1949
• The year 1984 has been and gone – is the novel still relevant today as a vision of a dystopian future? How much of what Orwell warned about has come true?
• When the book was written, the Second World War had recently ended, and Britain was aware of how close it had come to totalitarian rule under the Nazis. What impact does this context have on your reading of Nineteen Eighty-Four? What do you think Orwell’s main intention was in writing it?
• Think about what attracts Winston to Julia. What are the similarities and differences between them?
• Themes of love and sex feature prominently. Why do you think Orwell felt they were so important?
• Winston believes: ‘If there is hope, it lies with the proles.’ By the end of the novel, is there any hope left for the citizens of Oceania?
• Originally called The Last Man in Europe, the title was changed to make the book more marketable. It’s not known why Orwell chose Nineteen Eighty-Four; it’s thought he may have just switched the last two figures of the year in which the book was written: 1948.
• Orwell died seven months after Nineteen Eighty-Four was published. One year after publication, it had sold nearly half a million copies. It has since been translated into over sixty languages, and adapted for cinema, television, radio and theatre.
• Phrases from the book that have crossed over into common usage include ‘Room 101’, ‘Newspeak’, ‘Thought Police’ and ‘Big Brother’.
• Brave New World by ALDOUS HUXLEY (see here) – a sci-fi classic that also imagines a future where the public is subconsciously controlled by a ruling elite.
• The Handmaid’s Tale by MARGARET ATWOOD (see here) – explores from a female perspective similar themes of repression and radical government in the not-too-distant future.
• We by YEVGENY ZAMYATIN – Orwell acknowledged that this 1920s Russian science-fiction novel about a future dystopia was a huge influence on Nineteen Eighty-Four.