Review By: Anonymous
Published: 2021
Genre(s): YA Graphic Novel, Classics, Science Fiction, Dystopia
Audience: Grades 9 to 12, Adult
Content Warnings: Some sexual content
Goodreads Link: 1984: The Graphic Novel
Publisher’s Summary:
|The graphic novel edition of George Orwell’s bestselling dystopian classic. Illustrated by award-winning artist Matyáš Namai.
Winston Smith is a low-ranking member of the ruling Party in the nation of Oceania. Everywhere Winston goes, even his own home, the Party watches him through telescreens; everywhere he looks he sees the face of the Party’s seemingly omniscient leader, Big Brother. The Party controls everything in Oceania, even the people’s history and language. Now, the Party is forcing the use of an invented language called Newspeak which will prevent political insurgency by eliminating all words related to it. Even thinking rebellious thoughts is illegal. Such thoughtcrime is, in fact, the worst of all crimes.
But a seed of dissent grows in Winston – one that will bring him into direct conflict with the Party, and with devastating consequences.
Rarely has one book ever been so rich in political and social criticism as 1984. Originally published in 1949, this new graphic novel edition of the dystopian classic, powerfully illustrated by Matyáš Namai, reveals Winston’s fight against the Party in all its horror and futility.
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
Review:
Winston, a middle aged man, lives in the dystopian land of Oceania, where everyone is under constant surveillance of Big Brother. Big Brother keeps track of Oceanic citizens through telescreens, which are two way televisions with the ability to watch the viewer, spies, and microphones. Individuality is squelched, and rebellious thoughts are punishable by death. In this bleak existence, one of the few luxuries is a cheap version of gin: nothing is cheap and plentiful except synthetic gin.
Winston works for the Ministry of Truth, where he is tasked with rewriting the past and changing historical records, because “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” The Ministry of Truth, like all of Oceania, communicates through Newspeak, a repressive language system meant to squash original thought. Oceania promotes many contradictory slogans such as War is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength.
Winston secretly questions the government, and one of his first acts of rebellion is keeping a journal to record his inner thoughts. He meets Julia, another government official, and they fall in love, meeting clandestinely whenever possible. Eventually, they connect with O’Brien, who they believe is a resistance leader. This belief proves to be devastatingly wrong.
The reviewer had read the original novel in high school and wanted to explore this graphic novel adaptation. The bleakness of the story is powerfully supported through illustrations dominated by black, grey, and white with splashes of red. This color palette reinforces the oppressive atmosphere of Oceania. At times, the black text against dark backgrounds is hard to read, but the visual style successfully immerses the reader in the hopelessness of Winston’s world.
It is a strong adaptation and an excellent companion to the original text. However, the reviewer notes that without prior knowledge of Orwell’s novel, this version may not feel as impactful as a standalone read.
