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Summary: Truly remarkable
Review: It's amazing that George Orwell, over 50 years ago, has so accurately predicted the state of present day America through the fictional, yet chillingly realistic story of Winston Smith. The book reads as if it were written only yesterday with many aspects of the story describing the current state of affairs in America and warning of the dangerous path that we as a nation are travelling down - a path where we are coaxed by fear into giving up essential liberties and freedoms in exchange for greater "protections" from numerous false threats to our security. Ours is a nation that has become consumed with fear, and consequently one whose people are willing to swallow whatever bogus stories our leaders come up with to justify their unjustifiable wars and the profiteering they engage in. "[The people] could be made to accept the most flagrant violations of reality, because they never fully grasped the enormity of what was demanded of them, and were not sufficiently interested in public events to notice what was happening." Ignorance and fear have taken over our lives in America, and Orwell shows us in frightening detail where it must eventually lead. This book is a must read for every American.
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Summary: It Expands the Mind
Review: I loved it! Wonderful! Well Done.
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Summary: There is something in human in the book
Review: It is not a book for entertainment for sure. You just want to forget about the whole thing once you finish reading it. There is something in human in the book, something that turns your stomach, almost like "devil" and you want to get away from it. May be Orwell did this on purpose, to make you feel what one feels under that sort of an oppressive government. Some of his predictions in the book are "eerie" to say the least. Some people might want to specify this government or other for the subject of the book, but I think at different degrees, one can find dark forces that want to control and oppress others for their interest everywhere and every country even in the West. It is not a long book, which is a plus. You can finish it while the whole story is still in your mind. PS: In War and Peace Tolstoy writes about Pierre's Masonic initiation ceremony. In there Pierre is asked what he is afraid of, the most. Now, "1984" gives a possible answer why this question had to be asked in the first place.
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Summary: A possible world
Review: I was one of the many people who had to read 1984 as a high school student. However a few weeks ago, I decided to read it again. And I was amazed about how much I enjoyed it when I didn't have to worry about writing an essay on it. George Orwell did a fantastic job creating a world where there is no love, no warmth or anything that resembles humanity. Winston Smith, the main character, feels trapped in Oceania, a dire place where words are cut from the language to limit the thoughts of citizens, cameras and microphones are everywhere to monitor your actions, and where children will call their parents traitors and turn them in to authorities. Winston manages to find joy in trinkets he buys from a prole's shop and from a woman he falls in love with. And he finds hope in the form of O'Brien, the one man who he thinks understands him. However, in Oceania nothing good lasts for long.
The thought that Orwell put into the plot, characters, and the setting is considerable. He explains different facets of Oceanic history and society (especially through "Goldstein's book",) and even includes an appendix explaining "newspeak," the language of Oceania (which I recommend reading after the first few chapters). The scary thing about the book is that many elements of the Inner Party and Ingsoc are real and are relevant today. Read this book to see one view of how life can be like if we forget ourselves and put our futures completely in the hands of others.
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Summary: Oh, god, please...
Review: Dear "reader from Mt. Pleasant, MI": What on earth are you talking about? You think Orwell actually wrote 1984 because he was mad at the world? Christ, you make it sound like 1984 is the work of a nihilist. 1984 is a dark satire of totalitarian governments. No, the Soviet Union was not as bad as Oceania, but a satire is supposed to exaggerate. The novel has a perfectly legitimate political purpose, and has nothing to do with Orwell being mad at the rest of the world. You clearly didn't understand much about the book at all. As for why I liked it, most of it has been said already. It offers great insight into human nature and politics. Plus it's very well written. It is also probably the most immediately interesting and intriguing books I've read.
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Summary: A Scary Future Indeed.
Review: I just got finished reading this book and I thought it was great. It did a wonderful job in portraying a scary future in witch the government rules over it citizens harshly with no thought to privacy. The population in the fictional country, Oceana, is split into three different classes. The Inner Party represents the upper class, the Outer Party the middle class, and the Proles, the lower/slave class. Winston Smith, the protagonist, is a member of the outer party and works in the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth, rewriting and altering records, such as newspaper-articles, of the past. The main rising action in the book starts when Winston starts to have critical thoughts against the totalitarian Big Brother, the symbol of the party. He buys a book, which is very illegal and uses is it as a diary. In each room there are "telscreens" which are basically television sets that show propaganda and political pamphlets but also have a built-in camera and microphone, in order to spy on people. Winston eventually develops a relationship with a young girl Julia who works in the department next to his. They are successful in hiding their illegal affair for a number of years but are eventually caught. I don't want to give the end of the book away but just read it for yourself! It is definitely worth it.
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Summary: Dark and Terrifying
Review: A Review by Ryan Winston Smith is living in London, a city in the oppressive super-state of Oceania. The year is 1984. Oceania is a nightmare of totalitarianism. The Party controls everything, from Oceania's history to people's freedom of thought. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. Big Brother is always watching you. Winston Smith is a rebel who is desperate to overthrow this all-powerful system. Nineteen Eighty-Four documents his quest for a way to defeat the Party. This book astonished me from beginning to end. The things I love most about it are its unrelenting darkness, each part's unique theme, and its overall message. The dark tone fits the book perfectly. The way everything unfolds paints a picture of bleakness and horror. The layout of the story is what interested me the most. It's organized into three distinct parts: Part I illustrates the world around Winston Smith, Part II describes the hopeful steps Winston takes toward rebellion, and Part III recounts Winston's downfall. Most importantly, I could comprehend the urgency of Orwell's message. The author's purpose was clear: to communicate not the evils of socialism itself, but the dictatorship and tyranny that complements it if it falls into the wrong hands. I strongly recommend reading Nineteen Eighty-Four. It is a landmark classic. The external story is pretty easy to follow, but you'll only truly enjoy it if you are able to interpret its underlying meaning. If you can understand its message, then you, like me, will love this book to death.
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Summary: Rebellion!
Review: A Review by Jordan 1984, by George Orewell is a book about what our Country could be like in a negative point of view in the year 1984. The book begins with a future Government trying to gain complete power of the world and its people. In this world there are no freedoms, no freedom of thought, no freedoms at all. The thoughts of the totalitarian Big Brother and the Party were nothing but complete power. Can you have complete power without pain and torture? The Party and Big Brother control everything, history, science, time, everything. Also the Party and Big Brother believed that if enough people believed something is it not true? They think if enough people believe that 2+2=5 then does it not? I liked how the book kept you in suspense and how it was somewhat dark. The plot is very well done. I also liked how Winston started as a Loyal to Big brother and then changed and joined the rebellion. The author allows your mind run wild with ideas of what is happening or will happen to Winston. I really liked how the author actually made you think that it is possible for out government turn out like this or maybe already headed that way. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes sci-fi books and dark adventures and mysteries.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I have long admired this novel, but now I see why. The numerals that comprise the title add up to 22. Guess how old I was when I first read it? 16!
Rating:
Summary: Very powerful!
Review: There are few books that I reference as much as this one. Almost every aspect of the homogenization of culture and individualism is realized in this book. You can not discuss world politics without reading this book. Just read the darn book!
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