1984

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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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Summary: I wrote this review for a book project in my English class.
Review: 1984 by George Orwell was brilliant, disturbing, excellently written, depressing and most of all eerily predicting of the future. I enjoyed reading it very much. Orwell's writing is phenomenal. The way he describes things is incredible and beautiful. I admired his bold statement against socialism. His book was extremely persuasive and should be read by all that have not yet read it. It is a classic, yet it holds all the contemporary aspects of a newer book. No part of this novel was unsatisfying for me. There were no parts of the novel that did not keep me waiting for what would happen next. This could quite possibly be my favorite book that I have read yet.

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Summary: Orwell a genius?
Review: I think anyone who creates a language (even if it's only been partially created) for his/her writing, is an absolute genius. George Orwell is no exception. The vision and ideas that he brought forth in 1984 is something that can never be copied without disastrous results. This is one of the most enjoyable books that I've ever had to read for English class.

While reading this story, I have to keep telling myself that the book was written in the 1940's. It's amazing what Orwell predicted for our future and how our much better, and how much worse, the present really is. The creation of Newspeak is a message to the deterioration of the English language, which is not so far fetched. Orwell wasn't so successful in his other predictions, but the book is fiction right? Every page of new developments and plot lines engrossed me more and more. It's a great book that can evoke so much emotion in its reader. That's what happened to me. It's wasn't happiness, either, mind you. I put so much confidence and hope into Winston, that I was crying for his failure and my disappointment, by the end of the book. Truly a must read book. Even if you hate the book after reading it, it's still a book that should be read by everybody. It's sheds light on corruption, power, and rebellion. The only part I didn't enjoy was select portions of Goldstein's "book", such as the repeated chapters. If Orwell lost any readers of 1984, it was probably during that part of the book.

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Summary: George Orwell Was An Optimist
Review: USA Today = George Orwell's 1984
Perma War for Perma Peace
Police State = Freedom
Corporate Owned Government = "Democracy"
Virulent Lockstep Gasbags of the Corporate Media Cartel Propaganda Outlet$ = Free Press
Constant Terrorist Alerts due to Government funded "terrorists". Dissenters and not the Government Provacateurs = the only ones rounded up however.
9/11 Reichstag Fire = Divine Godly Mandate to Murder anyone who interferes with the Plute's Unearned Profits.

Fascist Dystopia. I recommend you read the book "The F-Word: American Fascism and the Politics of Illusion" by David McGowan.

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Summary: 1984, 2004, 2084?
Review: Ok, Ok, I know . . . 1984 came and went and we are living in the 21st century. Orwell's book is certainly dated and that does affect the reading. However, any good work of literature does not rise and fall on the culture of the day, but on the inner struggle. This book is well written and the dangers printed are always on the horizon for us all. This book is still powerful enough to make your insides twist and cause you to watch the news in a new way.

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Summary: Pay Attention... this is important
Review: As with Animal Farm (by the same author), there is much to learn from this book.

What makes this book scary is how easily it could become reality. As you read this book, you must realize that in order to avoid becoming what this book portrays, we need to fight the system now. Because, as Winston learns, once the system is in place it is practically impossible to destroy it. Keep this book in mind while our government makes specific policies... especially while we lose our freedoms and rights of privacy in the name of safety, fairness, and prosperity.

And what amazes me (but wouldn't surprise me) is how much the people love what they have; not knowing what they have lost. It is amazing how government can set your mind at ease with the right propaganda. A perfect example was how the government was saying how it had exceeded its prediction in the production of boots (which was actually a lie) and one of its citizens commented on how well they had done in supplying the needs of the people. In the same breath he asked if Winston had any razorblades, which had become very scarce in the recent weeks.

And even scarier, it shows how easy it is for the government to twist (spin) our language and use it against us. For instance, in the book we see the Ministry of Love, which is used to torture free thinkers and those who would disagree with Big Brother. We see the Ministry of Truth, which is nothing more than spreading lies on the wealth of the nation and its citizens. So on and so forth. What is especially incredible about this book is the detail of the language that George Orwell went into, while creating a new language called Ensoc (English Socialism).

This book shows all of this... and more. It is the model of what any country should NOT become. There is a lot to learn from this visionary book. You can instantly take a lot out of this book. Read it and take a look around you and you will be surprised and how quickly our society is heading in this direction. Fight this trend before you, yes you, fall in love with Big Brother.

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Summary: The Future is Now
Review: Take a deep futuristic look into the mind of author George Orwell in his intense novel, 1984. Orwell's ideas of what our world will be like in his future, is a pessimistic outlook on his new world. The "Big Brother" controls all, and the civilians of Oceania are powerless. People lack many of the simple freedoms that we are associated with today, and the government runs everything. Oceania is one of the three main super states that are battling for power. The city has a system of monitoring that will keep all residents from rebelling or from even thinking about it. The plot includes all the things that many great books do, including: love, lust, crime, and deception. This great novel shows how the creative mind of Orwell can bring us to the world he thought was to become in the year, 1984
As the story begins we meet our main character Winston Smith walking through the corridors of a large building. We quickly learn of the many new things to his world including the "Big Brother." Seeing sings posted and messages spread across the walls, Winston can not escape the watchful eye of the "Big Brother." Telescreens are everywhere and he is unable to escape their watchful eye. Winston eventually buys a journal and writes in it. From the first stroke of his pen, he is overwhelmed with the fear that he is going to be caught and go to jail. As he writes the words, "DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER" he knows that even if he had only thought it, it would be just as much of a crime. In fact, the thought crimes were known as the worst.
Winston works in the Ministry of Truth, here he alters historical records to fit the needs of the party. He meets a beautiful woman at work, with dark hair, Julia. He is worried that she is an informant who will turn him in for his thought crimes; however she turns out to be an admirer and is in love with him. They are in the same thought the party, and become lovers. They begin a covert affair to see if anyone is monitoring them, and eventually move into the second floor of the store where he purchased the journal. They continue on together for a long time, and Winston is sure that they will be caught and punished, while Julia is much more optimistic.
Winston becomes fixated with a party member named O'Brien, who Winston believes is a secret member of the Brotherhood (a mysterious group trying to overthrow the party.) Finally one day, Winston's dream comes true, and he is called on by O'Brien. This is what the couple thinks is the beginnings of something great. At O'Brien's luxurious apartment, he reveals that he is also against the party and all that it stands for. Then he asks for Winston to join the Brotherhood and help to stop the party and hands him the manifesto of the Brotherhood to read to Julia. Then something goes wrong, and our characters are caught up in a tricky web of lies and deception.
The way the Orwell is able to set up the characters makes you read faster and deeper into the story. He is able to draw you in using a very simple technique of being instinctively vague. My mind would race as I read the pages of this spell binding novel, and I know how Orwell was able to turn such an ordinary event like the birth of a new year, into what would seem like a hellish nightmare. The "Big Brother" makes you think how a totalitarian government would be run. What if the world had turned into this place, what if there were people watching us and recording our every move thought, it makes me glad that I am a citizen here in the free country of the United States of America.

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Summary: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Review: George Orwell depicts a horrible totalitarian state that suppresses all opposition. In 1984 the world is divided into three parts, Oceania, Eastasia and Eurasia. These three parts are constantly at war. The charismatic figure of Big Brother stands in the forefront of the Party. It is a figure of mythical power. Winston Smith struggles against the Party, he rebels against Big Brother and the totalitarian regime. But his rebellion will result in his own destruction. We should bare in mind that this novel was published in 1949 and we so realise that Orwell's imaginary future world is a brilliant creation, his vision of brutalised and manipulated humanity is gripping and unfortunately still supremely relevant.

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Summary: Manipulation to read 1984
Review: George Orwell's 1984 is a book about control in the reality of his world to the connection it has to ours; it's fascinating and shocking how Orwell was able to see a world such as the one in his book. The book is a prediction and shadow of our world today. Ever since Orwell published his book, it has been like a bible to people everywhere. This book is fascinating not because of the feeling put into it, but because of how it shows and gives the reader a sense of how humanity is and can become like the world in Orwell's book.
The only freedom shown in the world of 1984 is the self-thought of what the word actually means. Winston Smith is the man who experiences this and leads us through this horrible world. He doubts the righteousness of the totalitarian government (Big Brother) that rules Oceania, (one of three superstates in the world of 1984). The book starts with Winston and then shows how Big Brother (the government) is unreal. The government made its own language, is at constant war with the other two superstates, and watches its citizens at all times. As Winston's rebellion develops, we see how Big Brother is not as unreal as we think, he seems real, and to all the citizens he is real, this is what helps control Oceania the belief of Big Brother.
Oceania, Eastasia, and Eurasia are the three battling superstates. All want control, have the same kind of government, and are at constant war to obtain what they want. The process used to get absolute power is one used by past, present, and future dictators, like Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler. Big Brother manipulates its citizens psychologically into suitable ways of thinking. Instead of only using propaganda techniques, Big Brother also uses something called Newspeak and telescreens. Newspeak is the official language of Oceania, and it is used to control the citizens' unorthodox thinking. Winston works at the base of Newspeak; he changes words, news, stories, and information for the government. The telescreens monitor each citizen and stop them of their privacy, revolt, or un-orderly behavior.
Winston meets a girl named Julia who also feels the same as Winston does about Big Brother. They become lovers and their relationship leads them to what gives the reader the true sense of what the book is truly about. The backbone of Big Brother (the government) is revealed. When Orwell shows what really is Big Brother, gives the reader the true sense of the masterpiece of George Orwell's book.
The manipulative technique used by Big Brother to control their citizens is unrecognizable; it is all about mind control. The secret for Big Brother's success is doublethink, the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously and fully accepting both. Big Brother is supposedly a person, the head leader of the government in the book 1984, but he doesn't exist. The government controls people by creating a false leader with a system of mind control.
The book shows us how a government can become powerful and how it is possible in our world today. The thought of the possibility actually happening is frightening because our world now can become the world of greed for control, violence, mystery, and slavery that is shown in the book 1984. That is what makes this book so good; it truly pulls us into the reading because the reality in the book and our life, is paralleled by the possibility that can exist.