1984 / George Orwell.

Nineteen Eighty-Four is often referred to as one of the definitive texts of modern dystopian literature. Written in 1948,the book serves as a powerful warning against totalitarian regimes and extreme political ideologies. The pitfalls of a totalitarian regime are symbolized by “Big Brother” an over arching figure that dictates the lives of the citizens of Oceania.

Orwell penned this novel at a critical time in history, when a rise in totalitarian states had culminated in world war II. This was the time of Hitler, stalin and Mussolini. It was also the dawn of the post-atomic age, a time when countries had only just come to realize the terrible and annihilating potential of the human mind. It was this socio-political clime the became the breeding ground for Nineteen Eighty-Four. More than sixty years since it was published; Nineteen Eighty Four still remains one of the most hauntingly terrifying portrayals of the future of mankind. Future where everything belongs to the state and on one is free.