1984 by George Orewell: A review

[TeenHelp]

1984 by George Orwell: A review
By Jenna (~Abibliophobe~ )

The end of September will mark Banned Books Week and so I thought it would be fun to review and discuss a book that ranks #5 as the most challenged books of all time. [Source] The book has been challenged for a number of social and political reasons and there have also been times when it has been challenged due to people feeling there was too much sexual content.

The book 1984 was written in 1949, and while 1984 has long since past, I think the message the book sends about our world and where we are headed is really important. I actually went into this book not knowing much about it. The main thing I knew about the book was that it centered around a ‘negative utopia’. I knew the book would send a really strong message and I was correct in thinking that.

The book centers around a world where everyone is monitored to the fullest extent. People are monitored through something called telescreens which are used as cameras and are also used as televisions. Also, the characters in the book are judged by their thoughts and there aren’t any people they can truly trust because absolutely anyone can turn you into the authorities for crimes they feel you might have committed. Winston is the main character of the novel and he is extremely unhappy with the ‘utopia’ he lives in. The story takes off from there and is really intriguing; it kept me turning the page.

1984 is a well known classic and I was really nervous about picking this book up because I tend to not enjoy classics. However, after reading the first chapter of this book I could tell I was really going to enjoy it. I think the biggest thing I liked about this book was the message it sent about thinking for yourself and not letting others make you conform.

There was one chapter of the book that seemed overly drawn out and excessive and I did skim a little while reading it. I do think that chapter was an important part of the book but I think the author could have cut down on the length and still gotten his point across.

This book has actually reinvigorated my desire to read classics because I loved it so much. Since I enjoyed this book it might be possible that I will enjoy other classics. I don’t think I’ve ever read a classic and walked away wanting to read more; even when I’ve enjoyed the book. I think the message I got from this novel was that I shouldn't be discouraged by a book simply because it is a classic. I think that there are a lot of readers who are discouraged by classics and by giving them a chance it might be possible to find a new favorite book.

The ending to the novel was absolutely brilliant. I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to give away what happened or take away from it having an impact on the reader. The ending was kind of spoiled for me due to some reviews on Goodreads but that did not detract from the ending having an impact on me.

I think it is important to note that while there was a love interest for the main character the 'sexual content' was quite minor. There didn't seem to be too many overly explicit descriptions of sex. Given the type of sexual content that are allowed to be published in young adult novels the sexual content in this book seemed to be closer to PG.

Overall, I think that there is very little reason that this book should be contested or banned. I, personally, felt that the novel had a great message for the audience. Also, it is something that you should consider reading. You might surprise yourself by enjoying it.