1985 by GRORGY DALOS
SUMMARY
This book is told through 3 memoirs and various newspaper articles and official documents. The authors of the memoirs are Winston Smith, James O'Brien, and Julia Miller.
Big Brother died on December 10th, 1984, after a brief period during which he showed signs of recovery. He was the commander of a country called Oceania.
O'Brien employs Smith to command the staff of a propaganda newsletter extolling the virtues of Oceania. This newsletter, called the TLS, forms the beginning of the resistance against the thought police.
2 factions initially fought to replace Big Brother: The Aluminists, led by Big Sister, and the Paper faction. While the Paper faction wants peace, the Aluminists want to keep fighting. A public meeting is held to discuss the future where the public demands better leadership.
The TLS begins to publish sentimental pieces which trigger a response in the community. Big Sister demands the instigators be arrested by the thought police but is killed by the thought police because they fear she will cause rebellion. When her Aluminist counterparts threaten to release the number of people killed or imprisoned by the thought police, the thought police begin releasing those in their custody.
A Shakesperean play is effected, the first play which was not propaganda piece to be performed. Citizens revolted against dissenting thought policemen in the audience. The TLS staff and their supporters form the Intellectuals Reform Association, or, IRA.
After signing the peace treaty, Oceania lost all of its colonial empire to Eurasia, and the 2 million unemployed colonial soldiers who return home cause crime and food shortage, so that the government delivers food according to level of unrest to suppress revolt. The IRA demand a 10-point reform including the dissolution of the thought police, an end to propaganda and anti-freedom campaigns, and the reduction of army size.
Working-class Muslims begin rioting in the city and the IRA teams up with them to secure more social liberties. The remaining thought police government holds a contest for citizen-inspired policy reforms in response.
Together, the IRA and working-class overthrow the thought police and seize power. However, they are quickly overthrown by the old thought police. In order to compromise with the people, the new Oceanian government promotes social liberties. Winston Smith and the leader of the Muslims are executed.
ANALYSIS
Obviously, the events of this novel follow those of 1984, a book by George Orwell. Information about 1984 by George Orwell is readily available and can be easily accessed using any search engine. This book does make sense without its predecessor.
The revolution of the IRA in this novel is compared to the Russian and French Revolutions. Repression is mocked as people hurriedly release emotions quite different from the feelings they expressed under Big Brother's dictatorship. Dalos paints O'Brien in a sympathetic light. While dictatorships and oppressive governments are awful, the people enforcing these laws are human like the people they oppress. Deep down, everyone seems to want freedom in this novel.
The alliance of an organization named the IRA and the Muslims caught my eye in this novel. While the IRA and terrorist organizations such as the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are sometimes compared, they share little in common. Thankfully, no psychopath such as Osama Bin-Laden has come to power in Ireland, which is why the level of "terrorism" committed by the IRA consists mostly of graffiti currently, while car bombs and other violent attacks are an everyday occurrence in the Middle East, where the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are based. The IRA stands for Irish Republican Association in real life, and was formed by Protestants and Catholics who sought to overthrow the British colonial rule in Ireland. There was a period in Ireland when the Loyalists, who advocated for British rule both in religion and government, fought against the Republicans, each using terrorist tactics against eachother, attacking bars and other meeting areas. However, Dalos does not compare the IRA to Muslims in a negative light. I enjoyed his comparison of the struggle for religious freedom in the Muslim community to the struggles of the Catholic community in Britain. Additionally, Dalos named the Muslim and Catholic organization an Intellectual association, implying that he respects the intelligence of Muslims and Catholics, Irish or otherwise. His depictions were well-informed and respectful.
- The leader of a dictatorship dies
- An Intellectual Reform Association forms and promotes social freedom
- The Reform movement is quelled but the government implements more liberal policies
Dalos, Gyorgy. 1985. Trans. Stuart Hood and Estella Schmid. New York: Pantheon, 1983. Print. Book about the aftermath of Big Brother's death.
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