1984

Sad. Depressing. Hopeless.

These are the only words I can think of as I finished reading 1984 today. This classic is my Abandoned Classic for this year's Back to the Classics Challenge.

I have a vague recollection of reading some of this in high school, but only read enough to write whatever paper was needed at the time. Because of that, I gave it another try now so that I could finish it and evaluate it 20 years later. I do remember liking it for the most part and while I cannot say I dislike it now, my perspective of it is completely different.

The story begins with Winston Smith and how the world is for him. At the beginning there is an air that while life is strange and controlled by governmental forces, there is still hope out there. Everything is watched and monitored by Big Brother. Those who are in the Party live completely tied to it and this is where we find Winston.

Life is mundane, the same day in and day out. But Winston finds little ways to show a little adventure: daring to start a diary, frequenting a little trinket shop and day dreaming of bringing Big Brother down.

Part Two we see his hope kindled by another who also wants to bring down the establishment by having a love affair and stealing from the higher officials, yet is excellent at toeing the party line. As we watch this relationship blossom there is a level of hope that maybe, just maybe they can find others to help them bring it down with simple civil disobedience.

And then the inevitable.

While I cannot say I was completely shocked by the ending, I cannot shake the sense of hopelessness that this book left me with. Big Brother is portrayed as the God figure with one of the servants as the "Christ" figure, yet it is completely opposite of the True God and the True Christ. The terminology used left me speechless and I simply wanted to cry at the complete backwardness of it all.

Then I remember the book of Revelation in the Bible and it all sounds very familiar. While this book is written by, I believe, an atheist and is written as a warning to those who bow to communism, I can see many things in the book coming to pass on some level. What's depressing is there is no hope at all in the way it is written or presented because the book is devoid of God!

This is an excellent book for making you think and even asking myself as a Christian what it means to give all to God and not myself. It is not, however, excellent for anyone young that has not been taught in the Scriptures and how to see beyond what's on the page. 1984 is definitely for a mature audience.

"Our only true life is in the future." This statement sums up my feelings about the book. Thank God that I am His, or I truly would have no future. This book is a great reminder of this!

I would give this classic 3.5 stars.
Most of the reading was well done and interesting. There were a few passages that were a bit drawn out and boring. I appreciate the story line on the whole and the warning that this book readily gives to anyone about the reliance on government and allowing power to overtake us. I enjoyed the way this book made me think, but the hopelessness is weighing me down.

Reading Challenges:
Back to the Classics: Abandoned Classic
Tim Challies 2020 Reading Challenge: A book with a one word title in the obsessed section
The Modern Mrs. Darcy 2020 Reading Challenge: a re-read