1984, Not one of the worst books I've ever read.

 

 

 I, just like my fellow blog mate and good friend Lucas Braun, chose to read the book 1984 for last year's Language and Literature banned book project. For me, 1984 was a thrilling read, however, after reading Lucas Braun's critique of the book 1984, I felt that I should write my own review defending the book itself, and in contrast, showcase the book in a brighter light. First, let me start off by summarizing the story.
 The protagonist Winston worked a job at the Ministry of Truth where he altered artifacts (such as newspaper articles and books) to match the narrative of the present world the party was pushing. Winston had rebelled against Big Brother before (having a sexual encounter with a prostitute), but the moment he bought a diary and wrote in it was the moment he knew there was no turning back. From there on Winston met Julia who seemed like a model citizen, but also despised the party and rebelled against it frequently. From there on the two began a sexual relationship that continued through most of the story, and during this relationship, Winston rented a flat for the two. In the flat they could not be monitored, a rare thing in a world where there were cameras and microphones everywhere tracking them, their apparent privacy allowed them to eat illegally smuggled food and talk ill of the party. Eventually, Winston grew the confidence to tell Julia of a dream he had had many years ago of a colleague at his work, Dr. O’Brien, and how he thought O’Brien was trustworthy because of the dream, Julia agreed saying she had a good feeling about O’Brien. The two went to O’Brien’s house, where Winston would pledge his loyalty against the party, and where he would eventually received a book written by Emmanuel Goldstein, the leader of the rebellion against the party. The two would later get caught in their flat, with both eventually going through extreme torture and being brainwashed into loving the party. 
The story of 1984 does indeed start slow with a good amount of the beginning dedicated to familiarizing us with the lifestyle of Winston, it’s completely necessary in order for any reader to understand the complex world that was the Superstate of Oceania that Winston lived in. In the cramped apartment complexes, the detail the author describes the government’s constant monitoring of their citizens, and how the author helps you understand social classes, all add up to a boring beginning, however, it really helps to immerse a reader into Winston’s world. In addition, although the buildup of Winston eventually being caught can be boring at times, it’s the sole reason why the ending was so surprising and enthralling. Here we have Winston who had gone so long without being caught by Big Brother and his government, and he’d even managed to find the man he’d seen for long in his dreams, and find out the fact that the very man from his dream Dr. O’Brien was on his side, and was more than eager to help him take down big brother. The whole story had slowly built up to this point, and just where it seemed Winston was at the peak of his fight against Big Brother and was living his best life ever, out of nowhere you’re hit with a 180, and the very man who he’d gone for help,  Dr. Obrien, had ended up selling him out. 
In addition, after the whole 180 and getting caught, the author does a great job describing the many days Winston spent hopelessly in his cell, worrying about Julia, and wondering when they were going to eventually kill him. The days pass by faster and faster, and in the end, the author does a great job explaining the slow, yet effective brainwashing inflicted on Winston, one that makes him eventually lose his love for Julia, which was the goal of the brainwashing all along. It was kind of disappointing that there wasn’t a happier ending as Winston just ends up turning on all his morales and manifesting a deep love for Big Brother, however, it was much more preferable than him having to die a painful death. 
The book also overall carried a message throughout, about the dangers of censorship and suppressing the public's voice, and also trying to rewrite history to cover up for faults made. Now 75 years later, the message in the book isn’t just directed at the now-extinct Soviet Union, but it can now also be seen as a warning to those in the U.S.. In the last year or so many conservative state legislatures have passed acts claiming to denounce the teaching of Critical Race Theory in schools, but instead restricting the teaching of the country's dark past with slavery in schools, and restricting future generations of a proper education on these topics. In addition, the many attempted bans of this book in the U.S. completely highlight what the book itself is fighting against, not to forget there’s not much to ban the book for. I completely agree with Lucas Braun when he talked about there not being a lot of pro-communist language, or really enough of anything to get this book banned. There is a sexual nature, but it’s not graphic by any means, and it plays a small role in the story. In addition, the pro-communist passages in this book are almost ironic, as the whole book argues and highlights the bad parts of a communist society, and the little that does praise communism is mostly by antagonists, or after Winston was brainwashed. There really wasn’t any reason to ban this book. 
Overall, 1984 is a good read, with a still valid and completely reasonable warning for the future, and lessons that can be applied to our present-day as well. Although it can be a bit slow, the author does so in a craftful and careful manner, using it to either introduce readers to the setting or allow for a massive surprise just when things are going right. Lucas Brauns's piece on this story was great, and I understand many of his points. This is just my point of view on the story 1984, and just my attempt to convince anyone wanting to read it, that if you read the book, I can guarantee you it won’t be the absolute worst book you read, and it might even be one of the best books, and most eye-opening books you’ll ever read.