1984

Rating:
Summary: A Warning For The Future
Review: George Orwell's 1984 is not a prediction of the future, but more of a warning of where mankind could be heading. Written in the year 1948, this book is a satiric statement of what might come to pass if people did not take action against the problems facing the world. These problems include totalitarianism, fascism, and - most importantly - the use of language to alter thought. This form of mind-control is what gives a lasting impression on anyone who reads this book. Humans are separate from the animal kingdom because of their ability to grasp abstract concepts (love, hate, etc.) In 1984, people no longer have any privacy, the ruling class spy into their homes, and frighteningly - their THOUGHTS. Anyone guilty of a thought-crime (harboring thoughts against the government) is tortured until they "reconsider." They are eventually brainwashed through this torture, and the final result is a citizen drained of his personal thoughts and devoted to the government. This thought-provoking satire left a lasting impression on me and I would recommend it to anyone. The symbolism, the characters, and the plot make this story a must-read.

Rating:
Summary: Shocking and Thought Provoking
Review: The first time I read this book I could not help but think of all the forms of voyuerism in the world today. After only a few pages I was wondering how close to Orwell's nightmerish vision of the future we are. When will such privacy invading programs such as "Big Brother" (which takes its name from a central figure in this book) and "Survivor" evolve to the point that everyone is watched all the time. Will paranoia push privacy out the door? The Telescreen wasn't the only ominous foreshadowing in the novel. The fliud way The Party wipes out intellectualism is reminiscant of the constant "dumbing down" of entertainmenty today. Am I the only one who has noticed the decreased standards of quality in movies? Overall I highly reccomend 1984. Not only is it an excellent book, it is almost an essential read. In order to avoid the atrocities of Orwell's imagined world, we must learn how to avoid them. I will admit,though, this is not for the faint of heart. This is a moody and cynical book throughout.

Rating:
Summary: Excellently written novel
Review: Orwell does such a great job expressing his point in this novel. 1984 had a very interesting and thoughtful plot which made the book hard to put down. The first 30 pages were hard to get into but after that it was easy reading. The ending of the novel was a little disturbing but it was so keenly written that the author deserves so much credit for it. If u like thoughtful haunting books read it!

Rating:
Summary: "Negative Utopia"
Review: This book is a story on George Orwell's vision of 1984 whilst living in the year 1989. Instead of the beautiful visions some of us have for future and technology right now, George Orwell writes about the nightmarish vision of 1984 and it's "Negative Utopia".

The year is 1984. You fall into a world containing our main character, Winston Smith. Winston lives in a world of control and brilliance. He lives under the power of Big Brother who is practically treated like a god of mankind. Big Brother created the history you read now, Big Brother is everything, you will serve Big Brother.

WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.

You must use Newspeak and you must not use Oldspeak but Newspeak is being updating so much that you could find yourself half illiterate the very next day. There are telescreens in rooms and on the streets to watch your ever move and if you think anything that is not righteous of Big Brother then the "Thought Police" come after you in the night. You are told that you are not living but that you are serving Big Brother and that Big Brother is the only person living. You aren't even sure that anything is real, but you are worried of thinking these thoughts in case you are caught. Once a person is caught and taken away to the Ministry of Love (maintains law and order)-they do not return. This is the world that Winston lives in.

There is to be said a society called The Brotherhood. But you can never be sure of it because everything is so secretive. And one day Winston gets hold of a diary. It is not right to write in a diary or express your thoughts but he does so anyway. Half sure that he will be killed and half sure that it's something that he must do. And from the start of opening his mind to reality he realises that most of the things he 'thinks' he knows aren't really facts at all. It was true, Big Brother made the past, was the past, is the future too-because Big Brother erased everything else and corrected history at his own will.

And then he meets a person who thinks with the same thoughts he has...and then another..and then another...and slowly he finds out that there really IS a Brotherhood to maybe let out the truth.

The book is a very worthwhile read. It's also similar to Ayn Rand's ANTHEM. The end is surprising and yet imaginable and interesting to think about and discuss.

Rating:
Summary: A deserving classic
Review: This novel was what first got me into Orwell. It is a frightening cautionary tale of what life could be like under a ruthless and nearly invincible totalitarian government. Those who enjoyed this will probably also enjoy "Brave New World" and "Farenheit 451."

Rating:
Summary: An all too often misunderstood masterwork
Review: was Animal Farm predicting that pigs would walk in the future? NO

I say this after hearing other peoples reviews, summaries and opinions of 1984. One should not look at 1984 as a prediction of the future, because it was not truly meant as such. George wrote this as a attack on the dictatorships of the USSR and Spain. It is a satirical work, and a brilliant one at that. However , because it is written so well, it takes on a somewhat timeless quality.This may be why so many people mistake the novel. Those foolish proles. tisk tisk tisk.

Rating:
Summary: ASTONISHING!!
Review: While I enjoyed Huxley's BRAVE NEW WORLD more than this novel, this is worth five stars. Orwell has a great gift in describing the setting like no other. I could see everything about BIG BROTHER through my minds eye. It was terrifying! To think that anything like that would ever happen to the world is the most frightining thing we could think of, more so than in any Stephen King book I have read! There are some scenes in this novel that are very disturbing, but yet genius. It is hard to put this in any genre, it truly deserves a genre of it's own, it is very unique and original. But by far the most appauling and astonishing part of this novel are the last four words. Those words will make the hair on your neck riseup higher than they've ever rised before.

For those who do not know 1984 is about what George Orwell thought 1984 would be like in 1947, there is no privicy..and no escape from 'big brother's' evil wrath...everyone LOVES big brother because he has brainwashed them..everyone except one man!!! What happens? You will have to read a find out!!!

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Rating:
Summary: The Most Boring Book I Ever Read
Review: I think 1984 is not very interesting. The words are difficult. I had no clue what was really going on. It would be less boring if it was shorter and broken down so it would be easier to understand. You might like this book if you are interested in predicting the future and you can read lots of difficult words and know what they mean. Keep your dictionary close!

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not the best!
Review: Orwell's vision of the future is well done, but is becoming more obsolete than its predecessor, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. 1984 is more based on communism, whereas Brave New World is more focused on the future of Western industrialism. Brave New World is even more in focus because its use of changing the genetics of humans, which we are more likely capable of now doing after the cloning of the sheep, Dolly. Orwll's version is great, I recommend you read this, but if you read this, you should also read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

Rating:
Summary: Thank goodness our gov't isn't like this!
Review: Orwell's 1984 is a fascinating account of Winston Smith and his world. This world is ruled by a collective oligarchy with "Big Brother" in charge of everyone. And yes, Big Brother is watching over everyone through the use of telescreens, which can be found everywhere in Oceania, his country. Winston works for the Ministry of Truth, where he changes the past to correlate with the future. While working there, he meets a coworker named Julia who has similar beliefs. They meet several times for love which builds the story into the climax.

The theme of this book relates to the effects of negative Utopia. It refers to the total opposite of Utopia, which is defined as "an imaginary place considered to be perfect or ideal". Hardly anything is perfect or ideal for the characters in this book. Big Brother promotes this idea as it makes society as efficient as possible. The national slogan "WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" will certainly make any reader believe that Winston Smith is in a negative Utopian society. Orwell certainly makes a dramatic nightmare of what society may become.

There are few characters that operate as individuals in this collective society. There is a deep relationship between Winston and Julia, as they become rather involved, and consequences later result.

This book was quite different than anything else I have ever read. I have never thought how much a government could control a society, but this book shows how easily a totalitarian government can take over. It makes me wonder if our government today is spying, as there is certainly the technology to do it. I wouldn't want to have telescreens dangling from every wall watching me no matter where I go! George Orwell has created a masterpiece and an excellent example of science fiction. Through reading this novel, I realized how many famous things about the proles and Big Brother have resulted from the context of this novel.

This mesmerizing novel tells how Big Brother takes over Winston and all the other residents of Oceania through telescreens, Newspeak, the Party, and hate. Big Brother and his Party are controlling all aspects of life that are sometimes taken for granted. They control people's destiny, your occupations, dress, social status, meals, residence, family, and their minds. Thank goodness the year 2001 in America (or anywhere in the world for that matter) is not like the year 1984 in Oceania.