1984

Rating:
Summary: Not Just a Satire, a Warning
Review: Being a ninth-grader, I looked over the required reading list for high-school and saw that later, incoming juniors had to read 1984. I don't know about you, but I looked at the book and in my opinion it looked quite bulky. I figured I should start reading it now and in two years I might finish it. Surprisingly, though, the book read awfully quickly. Parts of the book are so terrifyingly captivating that I was drawn in, and at points I just found myself reading faster and faster. The reason for this is: not only does Orwell use stunningly descriptive language combined with expert storytelling, the message is clear and profound: A government can only be as perfect as the people running it and living under it, and we should not try to make people perfect. By purging man of evil, we also destroy his good, and drain all humanity from him. Orwell gives future peoples a choice: a perfect society in which people are mindless drones, or a society in which we are human and do our best.

In the story, we see a society in which people cannot step one toe out of line, or they are swept away to the Ministry of Love, a vividly and horrifically described torture chamber where one is mutilated physically, mentally and emotionally until one corrects his way of thinking to match that of the Party, an all-powerful upper-class which can very well proclaim that 2+2=5.

After reading "Animal Farm," I expected "1984" to be a satire on government of the day. I found it hard to believe that the two books were written by the same author. "1984" is much, much deeper and warns us that a greater power than the government of our day may soon arise to steal away our humanity. Since we are supposed to be the future, I suggest that any high school students read this book (hey, it's probably going to be required reading sooner or later, right?)

Orwell takes the reader from the depths of fear to the height of romantic literature to a spark of hope and then back to fear again in a highly powerful novel, and a good read.

Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: 1984 was not a book, it was an experience. Possibly one of the most thought provoking and intriguing books I have ever read, 1984 tells a tale of a "future" as Orwell envisioned it in 1949. Although 1984 is long gone, Orwell's tale is still as haunting as ever. It tells of a totalitarian society, where Big Brother is constantly watching every single move Party members make through a device called a telescreen, and it is a crime to even THINK a thought that is anti-party. The party controls everything. If a person were to so much as LOOK discontented with a party decision, they would be tortured until they loved big brother.

Which brings us to Winston, the main character in the book. He is quite obviously discontented with the party. He takes many risks, such as getting involved in a love affair, writing a diary where he recorded "Down with big brother", and getting involved with an underground brotherhood. However, he does this in such a blatant way, that he is almost setting himself up to be caught. He yearns to be killed for his political heresy. Which makes the ending all the more ironic.

This book is truly one of the most interesting reads. Orwell's novel is very rightly called a classic. This timeless masterpiece will always serve as a warning to the dangers of a totalitarian state, and if not that, just to the upholding of the importance of free thought and speech.

Rating:
Summary: Finished Wanting More
Review: George Orwells 1984 is by far my favoirte book of all time. As of last year you would have to pay me to read , but my first year of highschool seemed to be a real slap in the face. We read over14books this year. Most i would read only because i had to , but with 1984 something was differnt. I read 1984 with full intrest until the very last word. The basis of the story was all i needed , all the added details were just one of the many bonuses. These days people are so concerned with their reputations in society that no one will stand up for what they believe in . This was a refreshing read to break up all the social "stuffy-ness" and made me believe , if u stand up for what is right then you will get results.

Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: This book is a great read. It has one of the most powerful endings to any book I have ever read. Not quite as good as A Brave New World in my eyes, but close. The plot basically centers around two people's personal rebellion agains the now infamous "Big Brother". Any serious reader should have not only read this book, but should have it in their library. No matter how much time passes since it was written, it is still a relevant book.

Rating:
Summary: This book reads like stereo instructions
Review: Many people that I have spoken to that have read this book have downplayed it's genious and told me of it's tediousness. When I chose this book for an Independent Reading Project in my English class, mostly out of spite and interest in the title, I was brought into a world of tolatanarist leadership and of a little man struggling to find himself.
I'll admit, the book itself is difficult reading, but at the same time is very descriptive and almost fortelling of an apocolyptic disaster. There is not one boring point throughout the entire book, and at every turn, someone is decieving someone else and the world is revolving again.
I recommend this book to anyone who has the knowledge to comprehend stereo instructions but at the same time, fully understands them. This book is full of symbols and if you can't figure them out in the beginning, you will be lost at the end.

Rating:
Summary: Required Reading for the inhabitants of the New World Order
Review: I just read this book for the firdt time (May 2003). Although it was written in the 1950's, one should not underestimate its relevance. This is a powerful work that shows what could have happened in Western Europe if WWIII actually happened. You become Winston (the main character) and you can identify with his life, which consists of a horribly boring job at the "Ministry of Truth" and who is, along with every other human being on Earth, is constantly watched by the Thought Police, which also bans all resistance tools. You become aware of the struggle that is Winston's (main character) desire to get away (with Julia) from the all-oppresssive Total Government Control of all aspects of human life. I would suggest this book as required reading for everyone... Big Brother is Watching You... The imagery and horror say it all.

Rating:
Summary: 1984
Review: Filed under the Dystopian section of fiction, 1984's cynical vision of an unsuperable dictatorship is a classic and profound work of literature. As in Orwell's first novel, Animal Farm, 1984 exudes great amounts of irony and symbolism in an incisive and meaningful way.

The story consists of a brief chronology of events in Winston Smith's life. Winston is a disillusioned and repressed worker in the city of Oceania, a militaristic superstate. Winston believes that the bleek status quo was much better in his past, but do to the laws executed by Big Brother, the ubiquitous figurehead of the government, history itself has become alterable and destructible, and Winston can't mesh his thoughts into a coherent pattern. As Winstons circadian afflictions begin to grow on him heavily, a stroke of luck graces his misfortunate life when a beautiful young girl named Julia, who Winston was previously skeptical of, confides her love in him. Julia revigorates Winston's life and becomes an evergrowing source of light and happiness to his newly formed being.

On a balmy June day, Winston and Julia's seperate peace is suddenly extirpated by a surprising twist of fate- Winston's kindly old friend Mr. Charington (owner of Winston and Julia's garret), who seems unaffected by the party, betrays Winston and divulges his whereabouts to the Thought Police, a sophisticated and merciless law enforcing team. From here on, things rapidly decline for Winston. He is beaten, tortured, humiliated, and deprived of any small solace to help him. During this period of debasement and castigation, Winston is interogated by his fellow worker named O'Brian, who Winston looks at with idyllic love and compassion throughout the course of the novel. In the paramount scene of the novel set in Room 101, O'Brian quashes all logic and sense that Winston tries to use against the Party, and succeedes in destroying every ounce of humanity left in Winston, forcing him to love Big Brother and betray Julia.

1984 displays George Orwell's outstanding brilliance in an earnest, captivating fashion. Orwell's desperate, seemingly hopeless forebodings to society as a whole are thought to have been addressed to Communist or Nazi regimes, whose terrible dictatorships brought about the deaths of millions of innocent people. However, Orwell clearly illustrates that mutiny against any tryanical government is futile. One may be lead to believe that Orwell was a cynical, desolate individual focusing only on the bad or injurious parts of a civilization and the hopelessness of autonomous efforts to enhance goodness in a society. Contrary to this idiology, I believe Orwell's 1984 is a an ingenius device that accurately portrays a society that will be formed from ignorance and repression, but through such a powerful novel, Orwell disseminates his profound and wise message to the masses, and aptly conveys his yearning for a just and egalitarian society for everyone.

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: If you're politically inclined, you'll love this novel about Oceania. Though this book is fiction, you'll find more similarities with your life than you thought possible. The symbolism is great and should be a must-read for any high school student in a high school civics course.

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Summary: 1984- a classic indeed!!
Review: In the book 1984, George Orwell depicts a dystopia, a world that went wrong, a world of manipulation and control which uses its people against themselves like pawns. It provides stimulating themes of dehumanization, isolation, repression, loneliness, social class disparity and abuse of power. Orwell has mixed these themes and has blended them into a classic image of a dystopian world. 1984 was meant as a warning against totalitarian tendencies rather than a prophetic work. These various fears and uncertainties disclosed in 1984 can be perceived as a reflection of today's society.

Although 1984 was written in 1948 and published in 1949, Orwell was successful in portraying the world's totalitarian society-which exists today. He was able to prophesize about what the world is going to turn out like. As the year 1984 has passed, many think of Orwell as a skeptic or just a mere critic, while the case is quite different. George Orwell's predictions have been proved to be quite accurate. 1984 is the first book which gives us an accurate insight on today's world. This thought-provoking book encourages the reader to believe that this stereotype society of today is actually under control of governments which are hiding things from the local public. By giving examples, 1984 shows how these governments and "big fish" can use innocent people as puppets for their own use and tools for their own machinery.

Some of the dark shadows portrayed in 1984, like subjugation, social class discrepancy and abuse of power can be eye-openers. One of the worst realities/fears disclosed in 1984 is invasion of privacy and oppression by the government. These factors count as the crux of 1984 and the message Orwell wants to convey to his readers. Invasion of privacy by the government is revealed at every stage, as the chapters of 1984 unfold. Evidence such as "Big Brother is Watching You" and the monitoring of actions by the telescreen and the police patrol system, which keeps track of people and check over what people are doing, clearly shows that there is no privacy in the dystopian world exposed in 1984. This invasion of privacy of the people of Oceania, keeps them from living their life like normal people and this is how Orwell convinces readers to avoid any path that might lead toward such societal degradation.

Orwell's main goals in 1984 are to depict the frightening techniques a totalitarian government (in which a single ruling class possesses absolute power) might use to control its subjects, and to illustrate the extent of the control that the government is able to exert. This totalitarian society shown in 1984 is indirectly related to the invasion of privacy which is further connected with the oppression by the government. This domination of the government in Orwell's dystopia can be seen in various instances, like the unsanitary and squalor conditions of Airstrip One, which indirectly makes it possible for the government to suppress the locals. Another technique of repression is that of how they tell incorrect numbers of increase or decrease in ration production etc. By carrying these type of activities, the government is not only hypnotizing the citizens of Oceania but the government is also making them realize that they are helpful and concerned about the welfare of their society, which makes the ignorant people of Oceania (proles) happy and satisfied with their helpless lives, and most of them do not even understand that the Party is oppressing them.

Of course, the world that Orwell envisioned in 1984 did not materialize. Yet 1984 remains an important novel, for the alarm it sounds against the abusive nature of authoritarian governments, but even more so for it's in depth analysis of the psychology of power and the ways that manipulations of language and history can be used as mechanisms of control. Examples such as how America is trying to take over all the resources of the world and how it is trying to tap phone calls and keep an eye of what is going on all over the country are all examples of invasion of privacy and the initial process of the formation of a totalitarian society. If a person focuses on today's world, he will surely be able to visualize a world which has not come under authoritarian rule today, but a world which will definitely materialize in Orwell's words, tomorrow. Though the world did not fall under authoritarian control as Orwell feared it might, 1984 has not become dated; it remains an invaluable book, warning against a world that could come into existence and a world that has not completely escaped from the dystopian dangers that Orwell once described.

1984 has definitely found its place in the world of literature. It is a book that awakens those people who are victims of autocratic governments. It awakens people from their robotic lifestyles. 1984 gives a chance to all its readers to grasp the realities of totalitarian regimes and how innocent people are hypnotized and used as automations. 1984 is unquestionably a worthwhile read. It is simply mind grasping, thought provoking and mesmerizing. This is what makes George Orwell a genius of the 20th century.

Rating:
Summary: 1984= USA Today
Review: This Book covers "The Theory and Practice of Oligarchic Collectivism" which is rule by the oligarchic plutocracy with or without rigged elections or a "choice" of 2 corporate owned candidates. This is fascism: the open terrorist dictatorship of the most reactionary components of the oligarchy and finance capital. The regime is protected by dumbing down the population, scapegoating demagogues, fake terrorism....anything to focus the attention of the populace on anyone but their real enemies the looting parasitical oligarchy. The only socialism involved here is socialism for the rich (bale outs for the rich, subsidies from the state). Free enterprise for the working class. George Orwell got it right. In response to the person who claims that this is a book about "socialism": socialism is collective ownership of the means of production by the working class. We obviously do not have this in the US. The oligarchs own the means of production and the government and the tax payers subsidize them and their corporate fist known as the pentagon. Also, saying that Russians have a dead look in their eyes from living under totalitarianism: would it suprise you to know that in the 2002 Russian elections that the largest bloc of votes was for communists??? The oligarchs then removed the communists from the Duma (Nazi DICTATORSHIP style or USA style). This was not reported in the US corporate media cartel propaganda outlets because it blows the lies that the Russians are happy that the oligarchs are in charge again and have looted 40% of them into poverty in just 10 years.