Title of 1984?

Question

Why is the classic novel by George Orwell titled this?

Answer 1

Because it was set in the year 1984.

Answer 2

Orwell wrote his story in 1948, but it was to be set in an indeterminate future year... so he just flipped the last two digits and got 1984. It would be like writing a book today called "2043".

That gave him a story that was set far enough in the future that it was plausable, and it was far enough away that the book wouldn't be overtaken by events in just a couple of years. However it was also close enough that it was still scary, and not so far in the future that people would think "well I'll be long dead by then so who cares...". This is very important as 1984, like Orwells other great work Animal Farm, has a strong political agenda and is in fact a call for action. It is a frontal attack on the Socialisim and Communisim that was sweeping post-war Europe (including Britian) at the time.

Notice also that the name of the hero is Winston Smith. Anyone alive at the time would understand that he was probably named after Winston Churchill; so it is strongly implied that Winston Smith was probably supposed to have been born about the time 1984 was published. That brings home the point of the book, which is "If you don't act now to stop the Socialists, this is how your kids will wind up living."

Orwell had been a leftist socialist, he had even gone to fight for the Communist side in the Spanish Civil War. What he saw there opened his eyes and he saw Socialisim for what it really was, (and is) the sworn enemy of human freedom. Orwell drew upon his experiences there, and upon what was going on in Stalinist Russia and Communist occupied Eastern Europe at the time he wrote 1984, looked at what the British Labour Party was doing at the time, and extrapolated from there.

Answer 3

He wrote it in the 40s, so at the time 1984 was a year in the distant future.

Answer 4

because that is the main character's best guess as to the year. His first Journal entry explains that.

George Orwell was writing about what, to him was the fairly distant future. Far enough away that it would seem far away and wouldn't scare the people of his time too much but the near enough future to scare them enough to make them want to do something that would keep things from going as far as they do in the book.

Answer 5

He wrote it in 1948 and flipped the last two years. In the book, Winston Smith isn't sure of the year, but believes it to be 1984. The year itself isn't all that important.

Answer 6

At the time, 1984 was in the future. It was a futuristic novel.
Now it is actually true in many ways....how orwellian

Answer 7

Estimate of waht UK would look like by 1984, seems he was off a bit.