'Nineteen Eighty-Four'

I wonder how many people that describe things as “Orwellian” have ever read Nineteen Eighty-Four?

I’m being cynical because it’s fun. But more than likely a lot of people have read George Orwell’s most well-known novel set in a dystopian post-war totalitarian regime. 

It’s been translated into 65 languages and is commonly used in classrooms. My first read came in an English class in college. Although the professor was a Vonnegut guy (he wound up gifting me a copy of The Slaughter-House Five), he had us read Nineteen Eighty-Four. 

I think it’s used a lot because it’s a complexly simple novel. Yet, it’s deep and long and unforgiving. For anyone who read it in high school and college, it’s probably the darkest piece of pop culture that they’ve ingested. 

I strongly suggest reading more about Nineteen Eighty-Four. The way Orwell infused it with real tactics used in the Soviet Union and England makes you truly understand that the world of Oceania is closer and truer than we want to realize. 

As a side note, and I’ve never seen this in print or written about online, but a parallel literary universe to Orwell’s is the magic world in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. 

The classifications, the gigantic government always knowing when someone’s doing magic, the bureaucracy, the arbitrary decisions of rulers and even the language is so overbearing. I think Harry Potter is Orwellian. Which I can say because I’ve read the book.