Big Brother is watching you!

The novel which has brought quite a remarkable impact on me when I was a student is George Orwell, ‘Nineteen eighty-four’.

I still remember this story very well because it really goes into my heart- my system. Nineteen eighty-four is a political satire. The book was written in 1940s and the author predicted or imagined what would happen in the year 1984. It is a story of a totalitarian state (right after a war) that eliminates all opposition. In the forefront of the Party stands Big Brother, a figure of almost mythical power who always seems to watch whatever anyone is doing. At every corner on the wall, there will be posters of ‘big brother’ with the caption ‘Big Brother is watching you’. Buildings too are equipped with sort of cc camera and ‘telescreen’ which could not be shut completely. Any wrong doings, meaning not abiding by the rules that had been set by ‘Big Brother’ will be tortured or brain-washed. The story focuses on the protagonist, Winston Smith. The story of his rebellion against the Party, of his hatred of Big Brother, and of the thought crime which resulted in his destruction. Apparently he was not killed, but like many others, he was brutally tortured until he confesses that he loves Big Brother.

This story has strong effect on me in the sense that after reading it I was really grateful to live in Malaysia, in a democratic country (not in a totalitarian state or the socialist country) where I am free to do anything I wish. There’s no ‘Big brother’ watching every movement I make.
While reading the book , I felt like myself as part of the people in the book. I had the feeling of being so scared and worried of what was going to happen next. I was also deeply touched with the people who were captured by the so called ‘thought-police’
(under cover) knowing that they would later be tortured severely and brain-washed until they confess of their full obedient for big brother.
Throughout the book too, I was sort of always praying for the protagonist and his girlfriend - so as for them not to be caught by the ‘thought police’. Eventually, it did bring tears to my eyes when he was caught and never was himself again.