George Orwell’s 1984 was always a book I couldn’t believe I never had to read in high school or college. I was always vaguely aware of it, with phrases like Big Brother and Thought Police permeating our culture. So recently when 1984 started trending because of recent events, I finally decided to read it. I’m glad I did.
It’s so easy to get caught up in now without realizing that for generations thoughtful people have worried about leaders, war, technology, and ideology. For Orwell, I suspect, it was Communism and Stalin. Yet, in the actual 1980s, people compared Ronald Regan and his Administration to Big Brother. More recently, the Edward Snowden leaks and NSA surveillance sat uncomfortably in 1984’s bleak vision. Of course, Orwell’s uncanny predictions reach into current news with Kellyanne Conway’s attempt to sell “alternative facts.” What strikes me as more chilling is President Trump’s self-proclaimed war with the media, deeming anything he doesn’t like as “fake news,” and his seemingly unconscious propensity for lying.
What he’s really trying to do is convince us that his version of reality is the “right” one and we shouldn’t believe anyone who tells us differently. That way he controls the narrative. How far is that from Big Brother’s three slogans of war is peace, freedom is slavery, or ignorance is strength? In Winston Smith’s world, the past is whatever Big Brother wants it to be. His work in the Ministry of Truth centers around altering and erasing the past. What a terrifying thought. What if history was whatever the current leaders said it was? Is, as the quote goes, history written by the victors?
Isn’t it amazing that a book written more than 60 years ago can raise such important questions about our times? I’m reminded once again of Louise Rosenblatt’s theory that reading is a transaction between the work and the reader. We bring our experiences, hopes, anxieties, beliefs, and values to the books we read. The magic happens when we interact with a piece of writing and both have an influence on each other. There’s nothing else like it.
Readerish 