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Summary: The greatest novel ever written
Review: This book demands many readings; every time you do so you will gain something you missed (mainly because you will, hopefully, mature between each reading and thus gain heightened awareness of the subtleties of the novel). I disagree with another reviewer who said this could never happen; anyone with a cursory knowledge of Nazi Germany or Communist Russia can tell you it almost did happen. In Germany children denounced their parents to the Gestapo; in Russia there were purges of all political opponents. In both countries, there was history revision to suit the government. Hitler attempted to create a perfect society chillingly like 1984's Oceania, with all unattractive or deviant elements eliminated or pushed aside (like the proles). Also, anyone who has read The Brothers Karamazov can see the strong influence of "The Grand Inquisitor" in this book.The book is terrifying not so much in its view of the future but in its climax, when the Party proves itself capable of destroying all human feeling and individuality. Winston believes he will die hating Big Brother, and thus be free, but in the end he is killed with only love in his heart for the Party and B.B.; there can be no freedom. The story shows Winston as the last of his kind, the last with memory of the past and hatred for the Party combined. In the end both are eradicated; the Party controls everything. It has the power to say 2+2=5, and can prove it so; it can repeal the laws of nature and no one can perceive it otherwise. Winston Smith knew how to die free, but the Party destroyed even the desire to do so. It did not kill him until it knew he was "cured" and loved Big Brother. No one can be free; only the Party can exist in people's minds. Horrifying, and absolutely necessary. This is the most important book ever written.
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Summary: The Past is Present
Review: Though it was published in 1949, George Orwell created an insightful look into a possible future with his writing of 1984. The story takes place in London, England in a "super-state" called Oceania that is perpetually at war with one of two other "super-states", Eurasia or Eastasia. The government, run by a figurehead party leader called Big Brother, monitors all actions, facial expressions (thus, thoughts), and conversations via "telescreens". Any potential threat to the government that is caught by these screens is punishable by death, and Spies or Thought Police carry out the sentence. I thoroughly enjoyed this book because of the rising and falling suspense throughout it. I expected this novel to be a dry political book, but it seemed to be one of personal change and survival in a world of conformity and unrealized oppression. The love story sub-plot running through 1984 is one of companionship and unity instead of lust and personal gain. The removal of liberty, freedom, and individuality disturbed me, but these restrictions were the driving force behind the actions taken by the two main characters. The circumstances in this novel seem to have become commonplace occurrences to some degree, and that is what seems scary in the novel. Now that there are cameras monitoring every public place, Orwell's "future" doesn't seem so far-fetched. The events in the story inspire deep thought and moral reflection; I thought about this book for days after I finished it. I recommend this book to anyone. There are elements of action, drama, romance, and mystery in this novel, and it's easy to see why it is talked about after 1984 has come and gone.
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Summary: Most important book of the 20th century
Review: Firstly this is a fantastic book and a fantastic read. At times brilliantly lurid and erotic and at other times completely bleek and depressing. At all times it is however engaging to the point of being one of those cant-put-down type books. Secondly this book is just as important as Hayek's Road to Serfdom. Although Hayek's treatise rightly or wrongly (and I would tend towards the latter) skewed economic thinking towards the economic rationalist line so favoured by the Friedmanites, it was 1984 that put the fear of god into people who care little for economics. It has helped shape the world that we live in today. As a side note, the final part of Simon Schama's History of Britain is a look at The Two Winstons. Namely Churchill and Orwell through the main character of this book. It is an excellent exploration of the two men and really gives an idea about who they were and what they really stood for.
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Summary: This MIGHT happen if, well, people were perfect.
Review: Not all people, just the people putting it together. It is a well thought out book, present with quite a few respectable theories about the whole workings of the system and what would happen in the system. But the thing is, unlike Brave New World, which I think, of
the famous two speculative sci-fi stories, this and BWN, at least would work, and could work if enough energy was put into it, 1984 would most likely never come about. Since people aren't necessarily aren't conditioned, as shown by, of course, Winston who believe what's going on is wrong, could, with alot of work, turn around the entire system the Party had set up. If planned perfectly, and set up by the most dedicated of the dedicated, then maybe, maybe it could happen. But then of course, you'd have to worry about the other countries also, who would most likely help out an old ally taken over by a bunch of goobers. Read Brave New World to read about something that actually could happen! (And just because Huxley is cooler than Orwell.)
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Summary: The Best Book Ever!
Review: Just read the [darn] thing! Trust me! If you don't really now what it's about, the better. I read 1984 i Mexico on the beach and let me tell you the only thig I remember about Mexico is th ehot women and 1984...the hot women first of course. Read the [darn] book already!!!
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Summary: reality then v reality now
Review: You've probably already read the other reviews on this site, so i'll just concentrate on my opinion on the relevance of this book in our contemporary society
1984 is a stark warning against totalitarianism. Written in 1948, Orwell's depiction of a government-controlled society seemed absurd when published, contrasting the imnumerable amount of people that've said how real it seems now than it did then in western society One interesting factor is the geography of the planet. We are told very little and all we're told is that there're three 'super-states', Oceania, Eastasia and Eurasia. Oceania is constantly at war with a vague and distant enemy, and is always switching between being allies and enemies with Eurasia and Eastasia. Comparing it to today, just what is this 'war on terrorism, and how threatened do you really feel about it (disregarding media opinion)?. America and Britian, both independantly throughout the years and in allegiance with each other recently, are constantly at war with an enemy. WWI, WWII, Cold war, Korean war, Vietnam war, Falklands War, Gulf war I and more recently Gulf war II. Societal opinions + perceptions are influenced by media, but who are we at war with? The "War on Terror" clearly highlights the fact that there is no tangible enemy anymore. Explained more clearly in Goldstein's passage in the book, we are constantly at war because it keeps us united, and stops us fighting one another, stops us fighting the government. Another interesting factor in book is the issue of government surveillance. 'Telescreen' in homes, Cameras everywhere you walk, Microphones even in the countryside to detect rebellious behaviour. Although key issues stated in the book aren't as extreme, the power the government now has to keep tabs on people and spy on them has reached limits it has never reached before. The 'Party' explain that this surveillance is for the benefit of the people (note: animal farm) and they constantly reassure the citizens, or 'comrades', that life was worst off before they came along. Similarly, our governments are constantly re-assuring us how much better our lives are because of them. I.D cards are being proposed under the pretence that they will 'eliminate terrorism and benefit fraud', which are something the people are 'persuaded they want' because they media tells them they do. The third, conclusively and i think most importantly, is the way this book challenges the fact we (society in 1948) take our freedom for granted. One passage in the book which sticks out in my mind specifically is when the main charactor walks through a lower-class area, and is terrified that the police patrols might stop him and ask him questions; 'what are you doing in this part of town? is this your usual way home'? etc. Similarly, if someone was walking down the street at 2am in a dangerous part of town for no particular reason, it would be deemed socially strange, thus encouraging this person not to do so, and do what everyone else does. If someone dresses in clothes that you do not usually see, he/she would be regarded as a weirdo, a social outcast".My point is, how free do we really think we are as a society these days? How easily are we opinionated by the media? Our society is edging closer and closer to the reality that is 1984, and i recommend that you read it, it will change the way you perceive news articles, and you'll question all these erosions of civil liberties that have been happening. By the way, Orwell didn't intend for this vision to be reality in the year 1984. He wrote it in 1948, so he just switched the last 2 letters around.
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Summary: Fabulous!
Review: The best anti-utopian book imaginable! And yes, there are many and a lot of them take themselves too seriously and are quite pompous. 1984 also takes itself seriously but it has a right to. It is so well written that gravity is the only appropriate sentiment in a very dark world. Most people have heard of Big Brother and the Thought Police and the hype over and over again. Is 1984 really that good? Yes! The most moving scene for me was at the end, when a character succumbs under torture to betray someone (hope I'm not giving too much away - after all torture and betrayal are compulsory ingredients in an anti-utopia anyhoo) and the empathy portrayed in the book was so strong that I got depressed because I felt like it was ME that just betrayed everyone I care for. A wonderful book, a must read especially since it can be done in a day (and should definitely take no more than 2!). Unlike the anarchists and conspiracy theorists who reckon 1984 is especially relevant "in today's global climate", I say it's a book for all time.
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Summary: Think this book is about communism/socialism - think again!
Review: This book becomes even more topical in light of the events over the past year (those elusive WMDs, your great nation kept in fear with constant terrorist alerts, the latest airport fingerprinting of visitors 'security' measure) and it seems strange to me that people think this book should makes us wary of the evils of communism. I'm totally the opposite, I feel the book gives us a warning of what can happen if you are made to feel fear to the extent that you are prepared to lose that 'freedom' you are rightly so proud of. With the introduction of the Patriot Act (couldn't fail with a name like that, could it?) totally blasting that freedom out of the water, this book has never been more relevant or more scarily real. Yes, it's fiction but considering it was written more than 50 years ago, so many things are actually happening now and we are accepting them because we are 'told' we are in danger and it's for our own protection - the book even has it's very own Bin Laden. It makes it extremely convenient for anyone voicing their disagreement with policy to be silenced under the Patriot Act and not receive any rights whatsoever. Because it's dressed up with a cool name and there's the constant fear of terrorist attack, all of a sudden it's acceptable and what's more, welcome with open arms. If you haven't read this book yet, please read it. It's an eye-opener as to what freedom really is, or was, and far from being depressing, it shows the strength of the human spirit to desparately try to protect what's good and search for the truth.
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Summary: Few books can change the world. This one did.
Review: An absolute must read for young adults that are being seduced by repackaged Communist and Socialist idealism.
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Summary: 1984 or 2004?
Review: Eric Blair's 1984 is not only his finest work but also one of the most influential and provocative books of our time. The work obviates to us to full actuality how the world had evolved for the worse during the dark period from 1932 to 1949. Winston Smith and O'Brien are the most important characters whose keystone dialogue raises alert for the prospect of human future. Prophecy or Caution?
While we might prefer to interpret "1984" as a precautionary tale or some social warning, bloodshed, warfare, massive torture and murder, not to mention Stalin's cruelty, the Nazi mechanized techniques of organized massacre, the Cambodian, the Iranian and the Iraqi, the North Korean, and all the other countless horrors, have inevitably to a certain degree changed "1984" from caution to warning, further elevating the work to a 20th century prophecy. Despair about Future of Man
A sense of hopelessness about the future of man hovers over the book. In a way "1984" is an expression of such a hopeless mood about the bleak future of man. It warns readers that unless the course of history (and leaderships) changes men all over the world will forfeit most of their human qualities and become soulless automatons without being aware of the depravity. In the Winston Smith-O'Brien dialogue, "Imagine a boot stamping on the human face-forever" might have exaggerated the current state of human soulness. The 20th century history has confirmed and fulfilled dehumanized practices as mentioned in "1984" like 24/7 surveillance of all sounds, activities, and conversations; deprivation of freedom of speech, penitence for thought crime and wiping out of existence and memory and thus forfeiting any way to make appeal to future. For example, a Party member lived from birth to death under the eye of the Thought Police. Even when he was alone he could never be sure he was alone. Wherever he may be, he could be inspected without warning and without knowing that he was being inspected. The Party tacitly encouraged prostitution as such outlets for instincts that could not be altogether suppressed. This unforgivable crime was promiscuity between Party members in order to remove all pleasure from sexual act. Even to his wife, a Party member was expected to have no private emotions and no respites from enthusiasm. A real romantic love affair was all it took to crumple the Party. Desire was deemed thought crime, which entailed death. The Party saw that it was not infallible and that all its belief rested on the omnipotent Big Brother. It therefore called for an unwearying, moment-to-moment flexibility in the treatment of facts-alteration of the past and rewrite of history in order to wipe out existence of certain human beings and historical facts. It was not merely that speeches, statistics, and records of every kind must be constantly brought up to date in order to show that the predictions of the Party were in all cases accurate. It was also that no change of doctrine or in political alignment could ever be admitted. Whatever the Party held to be truth was truth. It was impossible to see reality except by looking through the eyes of the Party. Notwithstanding the Party contrived to have its way and imbued the belief in people, how could the Party control people's memory? The Party had wiped out most of the older generation during the great purges and the few who survived had long ago been terrified into complete intellectual surrender (sounds familiar like the Chinese Cultural Revolution?) When memory failed and written records were falsified, the claim of the Party to have improved the conditions of human life had got to be accepted, because there did not exist, and never again could exist, any standard against which it could be tested. "1984" is meant to be read as a warning, an exhortation, and not so much prophesy. However exaggerated and haunting the negative utopia is being depicted, the book is a startling work of an imaginary world that is convincing. 4.0 stars. 2004 (4)
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