1984 is a dystopian novel that follows a man named Winston Smith. Winston navigates and eventually attempts to overthrow the "utopia". People aren't allowed to fall in love, they aren't allowed to read, among a variety of other things. The book warns against the dangers of totalitarianism. The government watches people and personifies them as "Big Brother". The police monitor people's thoughts to see if they seem disloyal. Winston is lost as it would be impossible to find someone out there like him, someone who doesn't agree with Big Brother's ideas. Winston remembers a day before Big Brother's ideas went into power. He is aware of how horrible his society is but he's too afraid to take a stand against it. He struggles to find people who charge his sentient and can help him.
I rate the book 5 stars because it follows themes of loyalty, individualism, control, and surveillance. The book is complex as it describes how humans behave and think as basic rights are denied and how people follow like sheep. The book is so complex as it shows the various ways the government controls people, from rewriting history, the 5 minutes of hate speech, to the war going on where the enemy and allies change every week. The book has so much suspense all throughout and masterfully shows how human all the characters are. The themes are clear and serious and still apply to the world today.