I knew nothing more of 1984 going into it than little things like "Big Brother is watching you," and a basic feel for the plot as being about life in a complete totalitarian police state. From these mere scraps, I had ideas in mind about how this book would end. My ideas were wrong.
The story, set in the far off future of 1984, follows Winston Smith, a cog in the bureaucratic machine of Oceania (one of three large conglomerated countries that dominate the planet). Due to pervasive technology and comprehensive social programs, big brother literally is watching. Among the cultural levels that matter (aka. people "lucky" enough to be in or working in support of the ruling party), homes are equipped with telescreens...2-way televisions through which you receive your daily communications and through which you can be watched and listened to, 24x7. Should you be the kind of person who talks in their sleep, you stand a good chance of meeting an unhappy end. Part of the education system is a constant and thorough program encouraging kids to turn in their parents should they overhear any disparaging remarks. There is an entire division of government called the Thought Police whose sole purpose is to intensely scrutinize the population, weeding out anyone with a penchant for independent thought. In this society people work constantly to provide an emotionless expression, as even questionable glances can result in non-existence, for the government not only exercises full control over its subjects, but also over history. Massive effort goes into editing the past to make sure it's in line with the ruling party's position as it is today. If they decide you're gone, there is no historical trace left to ever prove you existed. War is a constant state of existence. If the "enemy" changes, history is rewritten to show that they've ALWAYS been at war with that enemy (regardless of what you might think you remember).
Winston is employed as one of the people responsible for rewriting history, and he struggles to reconcile what he knew to be the facts yesterday with what he puts in place as the new facts today. He's heard rumors of "the brotherhood," a secret underground resistance organization intent on toppling the government, but do they actually exist, or are they a tool of the government??? Are they really being periodically bombed by enemies from abroad, or are those bombings government sponsored to keep the citizens alarmed and in line???
The story is very well written and, in many ways, timeless. It's a warning of where government can go if the citizens aren't vigilant (heavily influenced by Nazi Germany and Communist Russia at the time). I would highly recommend this one. It's an intense book!
I'm going to spoil the ending after this point, for those who care about such things.
As mentioned at the beginning, I formed some preconceptions about this story before I ever cracked the book. As I read along, my hunches were bolstered. I could see the end coming and was curious how it was all going to happen. Then, it all went bad, and the ending was most unexpected.
See, I thought this would be a tale of the lowly cog awakening to his destiny and gradually sparking the turning point in the revolution that would bring down the party. That's totally how the story goes for the longest time. He meets a woman who shares similar views (and who he falls in love with). He makes contact with a much higher-up party member who confirms the legend of the brotherhood and offers to hook him up. Then bang. He's arrested by the Thought Police, subjected to torture that brings him to the brink of death, and ultimately released (I'll leave it to you to decide if that makes him lucky or not). The ending thought I took away from this is, after a certain point, there is no overthrowing the system, only the illusion of trying. The view and reach of Big Brother is such that plotting something as intricate as a revolution is no longer even possible.
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