Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian Fiction.
Key Stage: Year 9+
1984 by George Orwell (1949)
Reviewer: Nahar, Year 12
In a dystopian world called Oceania, everyone is monitored by the leader of the party “Big Brother.” The phrase “Big Brother is watching you” is reinforced through the posters, coins and daily objects to ensure nobody disobeys the rules. The main protagonist, Winston Smith seeks to rebel against the party, however, even thinking about rebellious thoughts is illegal so Winston purchases a diary illegally to write down his thoughts that cannot be expressed. He, in fact, knows from the first page that he is going to get caught so he patiently waits for that day…
The book was an emotional roller-coaster and I genuinely believed O’Brien would be part of brotherhood but of course he was just pretending to catch people like Winston. The concept of Big Brother made the book so interesting as there was no physical presence of this person, relying on our imagination to imagine how this “Big Brother” looks like.
Recommended: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood or Fahrenheit by Ray Bradbury.