"1984" Reading Response

          Society is affected by society roles, but books are based often on society. “1984” by George Orwell is a novel about a world without privacy, and with a wrong thought, the Thought-Police find you and torture you. In this world (Oceania) of insecurity, many roles in society such as religion, gender, and class become part everyday life. The society roles in “1984” are based on the situation in 1949 (when the book was written), which was directly after World War II. The war created many stereotypes and gaps in society, and this has affected books written at that time.

          After World War II, religious roles lingered, there was still hatred stirring about Jews, Homosexuals, African Americans, etc. In “1984” there is hinting about Jewish people being outcasts. For example, Emmanuel Goldstein, the Party’s main enemy in the book, is described to have “ strong, lean, Jewish features”. In the book it describes Religion as a sin, meaning that there was no freedom in religion. George Orwell himself did not have strong religious views, but he is said to have gone to catholic schools.

          In the book women are represented as a minority compared to men. For example, Winston, the main character, works with almost no woman. Out of the entire woman displayed in the book other than Julia, a main character, are housewives, prostitutes, washerwoman, and drunks. After World War II, women were disregarded too. Since they didn’t go to war, they stayed at home and that’s where they stayed after the war. The events in real life affected the book.

          Class in “1984” and after WWII had the same structure. The High, the Middle, and the Low; In the book, the Inner Party, the Outer Party, and the Proles. After WWII, the Aristocracy, the Middle Class, and the Proletariat. The Party and Big Brother want to keep the classes in place, keeping a possible revolution at bay. This causes Winston to believe, “If there is hop it lies in the Proles.” Because they have the most population, and if they are lifted they will be unstoppable. Many of this in the book is based on the Russian Revolution, which failed without the full support of the Low class.

          Many books are influenced by the society that the book was written in, but none as much as “1984”. It incorporates many roles and opinions of the time directly after World War II. This makes the book scary, to think that this story is really based on real events and ideas. George Orwell, the author, does this well in his other famous book, Animal Farm, based on the Russian Revolution. Even today we see example of some of the stereotypes displayed from these books, making George Orwell a truly timeless author.