10 lessons from the book “Nineteen Eighty-Four”

1. Truth can be manipulated.
When those in power control information, they control reality itself. If history is rewritten, people can be made to forget what was once true.

2. Language shapes thought.
Orwell’s concept of Newspeak shows how limiting words can limit freedom. If people cannot name rebellion or justice, they may not be able to imagine them.

3. Surveillance destroys freedom.
“Big Brother is watching you” warns us that constant monitoring strips away privacy, individuality, and trust.

4. Fear is a tool of control.
The Party rules not through love or loyalty but through fear, punishment, and terror, which keeps citizens obedient.

5. Conformity can crush individuality.
Winston and Julia’s attempt to love and think freely shows how hard it is to resist a system that demands total conformity.

6. Propaganda replaces reality.
Endless slogans (“War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength”) illustrate how repetition can make people accept contradictions.

7. Totalitarianism erases humanity.
The Party’s ultimate goal is not just obedience but domination of the human mind—destroying even private loyalties and emotions.

8. Freedom begins in thought.
Winston’s rebellion starts with the simple idea: “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two makes four.” Independent thought is the first step toward resistance.

9. Power seeks power for its own sake.
As O’Brien tells Winston, the Party doesn’t care about justice or progress; it wants power only to keep and expand power.

10. Complacency is dangerous.
Orwell’s warning is timeless: If people ignore abuses of power, they may gradually accept surveillance, censorship, and manipulation as “normal.”

✨ Nineteen Eighty-Four is not just a story about a grim future—it’s a mirror held up to society to keep us alert to the risks of unchecked power.