1984 - by George Orwell

Read: 2022-07-06

Recommend: 10/10

The book was published in 1949, portraying what life in a totalitarian country would be like in 1984. Only through reading this cautionary tale that I understand a few governments better. What was described in the book has become realities in a few countries: mass surveillance, repressive regimentation of people, a cult of personality, and a Ministry of Truth. George Orwell’s language vividly captures some very interesting memes:

• Big brother is watching you.
• The party’s three slogans
  • War is peace
  • Freedom is slavery
  • Ignorance is strength
• Thought Police: the secret police who discover and punish thoughtcrime.
• Doublethink: simultaneously accepting two conflicting beliefs about truths.
• 2+2 = 5: a Soviet Union slogan from the second five-year plan, which encouraged fulfillment of the five-year plan in four years (1929-1932)