ENGL1111 Musselman Project 2 Final Draft Book Review Word Count: 1117 Orwell and Controversy Review of Orwells

1984 Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-four, a Novel. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1949. Print. Erin Binnie 11/1/2013 To the person reading this: Im writing this review for you in 2113 from 2013 about a book set in 1984 which was written in 1949. I do not know any more about what the world will be like in 2113 any more than Orwell knew what life would be like in 1984, which is why my assumptions about your time are so relevant to my review. What I do know is that I live in a time where government tracking is normal. Everything I do on the Internet is traceable, from my Internet history and searches, social networks and email, from either computer or smart phone. Phone calls are tracked, cameras are everywhere, and this level of surveillance isnt really questioned because it seems so normal to us, and many people have grown up with it. My assumption is that the world you live in deals with even higher levels of surveillance, for government control has definitely increased since Orwell wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four. The novel presents a scenario where the government has too much control with tracking citizens, so although the book may seem too far in the past for it to be relevant to you, I think that it will actually be even more relatable to you than the readers in my time or when the book first came out. Nineteen Eighty-Four is one of the more famous novels regarding a dystopian society. It is also one of the earliest ones, being written in 1948, along with similar novels such as Brave

New World and Fahrenheit 451. Orwell writes Orwell wrote this novel when he was very distrusting of the government, after he served in the Spanish Civil War, after World War II, and at the beginning of the Cold War. So politically, tensions were running high, and there was a lot of cynicism regarding government and the dangers of too much government. Recent regimes such as the Nazi party and Spain under Francisco Franco, which led to the Spanish Civil War, showed totalitarian governments werent to be trusted, and he feared that government would become too controlling. Ideas introduced by this book are still present in todays culture. In the book there is someone called Big Brother whose face is everywhere on posters, and the citizens are told that Big Brother is always watching them. In my time, there is a reality TV show called Big Brother where people all live in a house, and are constantly being watched and listened to by cameras. The ideas brought up in this novel are still being brought up today, especially in recent years as the U.S. government has increased surveillance and tracking on citizens through means of GPS and the Foreign Surveillance Act. Yet despite Nineteen Eighty-Four being common in recognition and usage in everyday society, it is still on the banned book list. In 1981 it was banned in Jackson County, Florida for being pro-communist and contain[ing] explicit sexual behavior (Banned). The novel is controversial because it does contain sex and violence, and, although I am someone who doesnt agree with banning books, I do see why some parents wouldnt want their younger children to read it. Some material isnt

appropriate for young children, and I could see how it might be scarring for someone not emotionally ready for this subject level. For example, the main character fantasizes about raping and murdering a woman. So for this reason I can see why the Floridian parents might ban it. However, I find it ridiculous to ban it on account of it being pro-communist (Banned). For starters, even if it is pro-communist, this isnt a basis for banning a book. Communism is good as an idea; it has only been in practice that we have found it doesnt work well. Perhaps in your time communism has found a way to be successful. Secondly, even if it is perceived as bad, it is still just a social theory, that isnt demanding anyone to act on it; it is simply expressing an idea. And expressing ideas that may be controversial politically is something that has always been encouraged in American culture, and backed by the first amendment. However, the most important issue with this criticism of the novel is the fact that Nineteen Eighty-Four is absolutely in no way pro-communist. In fact, its the very opposite. Its criticizing the government, and what would happen with too much government control on citizens lives. It makes you wonder how did these Floridian parents not understand the very basic idea of the novels. Did they read the book at all? To be honest, you wouldnt even have to read the novel to understand the basic idea of the book, so its really hard to understand how they even thought it was pro-communist. So what could the reason be? It could, and probably is something as simple as they didnt bother to read a basic synopsis before banning it. But that doesnt make all that much sense, because why bother doing all the work to ban it without putting in the little amount of work to read a quick summary? So maybe its because for some reason they dont want their kids to question government authority, and by labeling it as pro-communist, it wouldnt make their kids want to read it because they already around pro-communist ideas. This is far fetching speculation, but you never know, given that the time it was banned was during the Iran

Hostage Crisis, when the country didnt really need people to doubt the government. Most likely however, it was probably that they didnt like the themes in the novel, and mistakenly slapped a pro-communist label on it. This being said, Nineteen Eighty-Four does push around some heavy ideas on the impact of government. It raises fear in its readers, which already existed due to tensions regarding government, but noticeably increased these feelings. I find it incredibly remarkable how the feelings uprooted in this novel are still making an impact on people. In a Supreme Court case just two years ago, when discussing whether GPS tracking without a warrant breaks the 4th amendment (which deals with unreasonable searches and seizures), one of the justices said if you win, you suddenly produce what sounds like 1984 (Peters). I can imagine that it will have an impact on people in 2113 as well. So whether or not this novel is something you politically agree or disagree with, Orwell proposed an interesting scenario that does touch on a lot of interesting ideas regarding government control. It is regarded as a classic dystopian novel, and is still widely known among members of our society. I would recommend this book for anyone that likes politics, dystopian novels, or simply wants to read something placed on a banned book list for radical thinking.

Acknowledgements Id like to thank Amy and Morgan for reviewing my fact sheets. Id like to thank the librarian at the South End Branch of the Boston Public library for helping me find Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Works Cited Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-four, a Novel. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1949. Print. "Banned And/or Challenged Books from the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century." ALA. N.p., 2013. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. Peters, Sarah. "Justice Breyer Warns of Orwellian Government." The Hill. N.p., 08 Nov. 2011. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.