1984, by George Orwell, is a dystopian book set in the late 20th century. The world is split up into three major powers in eternal war: Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. Each power has the exact same government: a socialist dictatorship. This is only the name: most of the power lies in the Party, where the elite work, which is divided into the privileged Inner Party and the middle-class Outer Party. The rest of the 90% are called proles and live in poverty. Oceania is ruled by a person named Big Brother, who everyone is brainwashed into worshipping as an idol. Everyone is always monitored by cameras, and any dissidents against Big Brother get caught and disappear. Winston Smith is one of these dissidents, but he can hide himself so he hasn't gotten caught. He always hoped that there were others working in the Party who hated the structure of society. One day, he met Julia, who felt the same, and they became close and met someone else who had connections to the Brotherhood, a secret underground organization dedicated to the overthrow of Big Brother. With this, he tried to start helping the Brotherhood. But then there comes a twist and a betrayal. The government attempts to remove all of his rebellious nature. Will Winston lose his entire self and succumb to the brainwashing, or will he prevail?
This book was a very interesting view of a world ruled by dictatorships. I found the author's sentiment on human nature and the desire for power very plausible based on what is happening in some societies today, which makes this book, written in 1949 (just a few years after World War 2), still a must-read masterpiece. The characters, like Winston and Julia, were well-developed, and the plot twists were never anticipated and added a lot to the storyline. Because of all this, I give this book a five out of five.