Christmas holidays never fail to excite me, but I also dread awkwardly following my parents around during family dinners. If you are an individual like me, who enjoys reading novels with dystopian settings or who just enjoys the works of George Orwell in general, I would highly recommend reading “1984” by George Orwell during the holidays!
Eric Arthur Blair—more famously known through his pen name as George Orwell—is a man with a tragic past, having experienced continuous discrimination due to his background as a Scot and the poverty his family faced. This adversity became an influencing key factor to most of his books and essays.
“1984” is a political literature about a man named Winston Smith, an individual who lived during a period of time when the government has control of everyone’s rights and freedom. The book reveals Winston’s frustrations with “Big Brother,” the superior head of authority, and how he rebels against his method of dominance. He also meets a woman named Julia (ooh) and they find out that they share similar thoughts about the government; their encounter leads them to meet secretly and avoid the eyes of the “thought police”.
I read the novel last year and thoroughly enjoyed it because it really made me think about the injustice in our own authorities, and the influence the government may have on us. I also noticed that the book predicts the corruption of modern civilization through the government’s propaganda and how human rights are put aside by the continuous development of technology.
I hope that everyone’s Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa is full of food and gifts!
