George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece “1984” is a haunting exploration of the dire consequences of totalitarianism and the erosion of human rights. The novel’s chilling narrative serves as a potent reminder of the importance of the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), as it vividly illustrates the bleak reality that emerges when these rights are systematically denied.

Orwell’s choice of the year 1984 was not arbitrary. He reversed the last two digits of the year in which he wrote the novel, 1948, to arrive at the dystopian future setting. This subtle detail adds an extra layer of significance to the work, as it suggests that the seeds of totalitarianism were already present in Orwell’s time.