George Orwell estate accused of censorship after putting trigger warning at start of Nineteen Eighty-Four
By JADA BAS
George Orwell’s estate has been accused of censorship after a ‘trigger warning’ was added to his classic novel Nineteen Eighty Four.
The preface of the the 75th anniversary edition suggests Orwell’s protagonist Winston Smith is ‘problematic’ and that readers may find his views on women ‘despicable’.
The introductory essay was written by US novelist Dolen Perkins-Valdez and critics claim it risks undermining the revolutionary novel’s warning against state control of thought.
Orwell’s dystopian hyperbolic future is set under an authoritarian regime, where citizens are punished by the ‘Thought Police’ for subversive thoughts.
It follows Winston Smith and a minor bureaucrat who secretly rebels against the regime with Julia, a fellow party member.