1984

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Summary: A frightening reminder as to why our nation was founded
Review: One of the greatest works of fiction of all time, a book that I found abhorrent to read, with characters that aren't likable. I wouldn't say that I enjoyed reading it, as such, but I was compelled to continue reading through to the end. Not nearly as grim a tale as other distopian novels, 1984 is a book that every American citizen should read. After all, the European union is our ally, and has always been our ally.

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Summary: So confusing!!!
Review: I read this book last year, in 8th grade, and it was one of the hardest books I have ever had to read. It was so long and dragged on and on. I did think this book was pretty good but it took me forever to read because of the vocab and there were so many scenes that could have been cut to make this book shorter. I am going to read this book again someday when I am a little older and will understand it a bit better because I did think it was good. I do recommend this to people but beware if you are young that it is a hard read. I recommend this to people in high school or above.

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Summary: Read this book!
Review: In George Orwell's '1984' he describes a world that might someday be. Maybe even a hightened view of today's 'democracy'. In '1984' there are really only two classes- that of the party members and that of the proles. But no matter which you belong to, you are really the same, because you are born into a world where freedom is unknown. Born into a world where your future is pre-determined, and therefore, you are 'happy' in your ignorance. All of your actions and conversations are constantly monitored, and if you dare to challenge the rule that you are put under from birth, dire consequences are known to follow. So you grow up in only one world with only one option- that of obeying. And in your mind and in the minds of those around you, you become so accustomed to this system of unchallenged rule, that you begin to believe that it's right. This is a story of a man who suddenly awakens to the injustices of the Party. He examines the phsychology of the system and comes to understand just how the Party has manipulated and altered the past in order to control the future. I'm quite amazed at the depth of Orwell's knowledge and how he see's the precense of a ruling class in it's entirety. Throughout the novel he remains completely unbiased, and therefor gives us a true view of the mentality of government rule and how the working class comes to accept it. The only way that one could possibly dispute this book is if they came into it with an altered opinion, which is exactly what the book describes. This is really a work of genius and can change the way you view your life entirely. It's something that everyone should examine and study and try to understand. It really is an amazing piece of work.

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Summary: An excellent social commentary
Review: George Orwell's 1984 is a futuristic novel in which every movement of people is controlled by a government headed by "Big Brother", which is determined to dominate every aspect of people's lives. The slogan that "freedom is slavery" and "war is peace" is a constant theme within the story, and Orwell's explanation of war being a mere political and economic tool is exactly correct, as has been demonstrated by vietnam and the korean conflict, as well as other US military involvements. His description of the government being an all-powerful, all-knowing entity is not entirely too far off from the communistic governments of today. What is amazing is that Orwell wrote the book in 1949, projecting what life would be like 35 years later, and he was not very far off in his assessment. The amount of freedom that people have has drastically been reduced in society, as is the case in 1984. Telescreens which can see and listen to people's private lives are the norm in a world where nothing is secret and almost anything is a crime against the State. The main character, Winston Smith, spends the entire novel realizing that this is the case. Orwell's 1984 is truly a fairly accurate portrayal of the social and governmental conditions that are present in todays society

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Summary: an orwellian world...
Review: 1984 was truly ausome book. I read Orwell's Animal Farm in middle school and thoroughly enjoyed that book. I had also started reading 1984 in middle school, but never got into the story. I started reading 1984 a few weeks ago and after getting past the first 20 pages was immersed in the story. 1984, written in the 1940's is about a future gone awry with no freedom of anything, and the political party in power having overwhelming control over all its citizens. The party is divided into 4 main factions the ministry of love, plenty, truth, and peace. It is interesting that they don't call it the ministry of the economy but the ministry of plenty. They are also speaking a new language called Newspeak which tries to simplify all words into their most basic meanings. This is to prevent the formation of new ideas and independent thinking. The thing that I liked most about the book was the believability of the world, it seemed plausible that the future of 1984 could have existed instead of the one we have today. Overall I would rate this book a 9.5 on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest. If you are looking to read a truly insightful book into the diabolical possibility of party systems this is a great book to read. If you have some time on your hands this is also a great book to read.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome work
Review: This was the first time I had tried the "futuristic" genre- and I loved it! 1984 really made think- it was in-depth without being totally confusing. The characters are realistic and Orwell does a great job of describing how the citizens are controlled in the republic of Oceania. If you ever get the opportunity, read 1984- you will not be disappointed!!!

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Summary: Julia
Review: A reversal of discourses.....

After we ponder the anti-totalitarian implications of 1984 and get through the anti-utopian Orwellian thesis, we are left with characters: Winston Smith, O'Brien, Emmanuel Golstein and Julia. Julia is the focus of this review.

By Postmodern standards (if that is not a contradiction in terms) Julia can very easily be seen as some sort of voiceless character whose creation seems (at least on the surface) to be dependent on Winston. However, if you hear the absent voice, you will see a multidimensional character, who unfortunately, in this work seems to be written up with one dimension.

Julia's role can be reduced to rebellion. Her sexuality runs counter to the Party line of atomization and a twisted sense of beneficial chastity. She takes this rebellion one step further. Orwell is a neo-romantic. Despite the lack of overt leanings of the awe and love of nature, he embodies love in Julia. Her love runs counter to the Party line and I feel is Orwell's Sonia Marmeladov. For those of you not familiar with Crime and Punishment, Sonia is Raskolnikov's redemption, his redemption through suffering. While Raskolnikov finds God through Sonia, Winston is not so lucky.

Love is presented as a juxtaposition against the hate inspired by the Party. Julia's eroticism is a major no-no as far as O'Brien is concerned and forms the Eve to Winston's Adam. Picture this, Orwell, the Romantic, offers love is more powerful than hate. The Party then, mobilizes to destroy this force and women like this are a threat. From this perspective, women are a greater threat to the Party then men could ever be. Despite what seems like hints of mysoginistic tendencies, Winston is redeemed - if but for a short time only.

I agree that this does not really liberate and give women the voice due their discourse, our discourse - really - but I feel an examination of this type begins to give the absent voice a hearing in a new reading, a less Modern reading, a more enlightened reading. Until we can re-read all those books that we read 20 years ago and give characters like Sonia Marmeladov, Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary and Julia a second look, we will get stuck in a paradigm so ingrained by a male dominated discourse that we have fallen into through a lack of analysis - but that is slowly changing. 1984 offers us much more than an anti-totalitarian perspective - not to ignore that very important point. That 1984 warns us about alienation is timeless. However, to get a fuller read of 1984, try reversing the discourse. Nonetheless, for Orwell's timeless classic of paranoia - no one can deny it's place as a timeless classic.

Miguel Llora

Rating:
Summary: 1984
Review: Nineteen-eighty-four is a prime example of what the future may have looked like had the world had fallen to a reign of totalitarism; a world of total government control. If you enjoy lengthy narratives with details oozing out of the binding, or take a fancy to history and government, this is a must read. If you like books that make you think, this would be a good choice; however, if these subjects don't excite you, you may want to stay away from this one. The incredibly detailed writing clarifies and depicts each scene with stunning reality, but can slow the reading with the intriguing, yet tedious facts.

The main themes are love, oppression, and hidden rebellion. It deals with the struggle of man against the indomitable machine of politics. Nineteen-eighty-four is set behind the perspective of the main character, Winston. Only what the he sees is what the reader sees. Given this, you see a great deal. If you harbor even the smallest interest in totalitarian government or communism, this is a good read. The book follows Winston through his daily life and describes its intertwining with the people around him, the "Brotherhood," and the "Party." Through hatred of the governmental restrictions and an illegal love interest, Wilson secretly plans the Party's demise as the plot progressively thickens. The insight and imagination that Orwell used to fabricate an entire world is outstanding. He has a marvelously terrifying viewpoint of Marxist policy, scary to the point of realism.

However, as good as this book may seem, it is aimed at the mature reader, a fabulous choice for the high school and college students and great for adults too. So for all of you who have always heard the well-known phrase "Big Brother's watching you," and never knew what it meant, take the chance to figure out what it means by diving into 1984; you won't be disappointed.

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Summary: Chilling Masterpiece!
Review: An extraordinarily original and powerful novel, George Orwell's chilling masterpiece remains absolutely convincing, from the first sentence to the last four words. This book is a remarkable achievement. Sincerely, Diana Dell, author, "A Saigon Party: And Other Vietnam War Short Stories."

Rating:
Summary: Symbolism
Review: When I read this book at first it was very dense and a little complicated. But as I got farther into the book I realized I had actually started becoming part of the book. I realized that I knew what would happen before it happened. Oddly enough this mad the book even more interesting instead of boring. As I finished the book I tried to do what I always do; look for what the author was trying to tell me. Now it's obvious that he was warning against the effect of communism. Yet he was also exposing a human need that most of us don't recognize. Orwell was trying to tell us that all of us have a deep need for something to be under. The Party in this book was looking for someone to have them under control and to tell them what to believe in. They were looking for something material to represent to them the power they believed in. An example of this in actual life would be when people look to the priest's to tell them how to live their lives instead of looking straight to God. The reason they do this is because they cannot see, hear, touch, taste, or smell God. So they take a human being and idolize them as if they were the only link they had towards God. This is the human need that Orwell was trying to relate to us.