Nineteen Eighty-Four

Nineteen Eighty-Four (often 1984) is a political novel written by George Orwell. The story takes place in a nightmarish dystopia where the omnipresent State enforces perfect conformity among members of a totalitarian Party through indoctrination, propaganda, fear, and ruthless punishment. The novel introduced the concepts of the ever-present, all-seeing Big Brother, the notorious Room 101, the ubiquitous thought police, and the bureaucrats' and politicians' language Newspeak. Many commentators draw parallels between today's society and the world of 1984, suggesting that we are starting to live in what has become known as Orwellian society. The novel was successful in terms of sales, and has remained one of the most influential books of the 20th century.

Related Topics:
Political - Novel - George Orwell - Dystopia - Omnipresent - State - Conformity - Totalitarian - Indoctrination - Propaganda - Big Brother - Room 101 - Thought police - Newspeak - Orwellian - 20th century

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Along with Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, the world of Nineteen Eighty-Four is one of the first and most cited characterizations of a realistic dystopia to have appeared in English literature. The book has been translated into many languages. Orwell acknowledged the influence on his novel of Yevgeny Zamyatin's Russian novel We, completed in 1921. Nineteen Eighty-Four has been used to the point of cliché in discussions of privacy issues. The term "Orwellian" has come to describe actions or organisations that are thought to be reminiscent of the society depicted in the novel.

Related Topics:
Aldous Huxley - Brave New World - Dystopia - English literature - Yevgeny Zamyatin - Russian - We - 1921

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