1984

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Summary: Brilliant philosopher, terrifying dystopia
Review: George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four creates a nightmarish regime of totalitarian terror in which the protagonist, Winston Smith, lives an uncomfortable and fearful existence under the watchful eye of a seemingly benevolent despot known as 'Big Brother' and his infamously brutal 'Thought Police'. The novel conveys its themes and ideas by providing an insight into the life and mind of Smith, a secret rebel working in the propaganda department of Big Brother's omnipotent 'Party' - a tyrannical political organisation that also encompasses the middle and upper classes of the entire society. It is a story in the genre of classic science fiction novels that delineate the plight of individuals who seek freedom from the oppression of futuristic authoritarian dystopias; most notably Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World", Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451", and Anthony Burgess's "A Clockwork Orange". Like the authors of these other famous books George Orwell was influenced by the physical and ideological struggles that characterised the two World Wars of the 20th Century; inspiring his rational philosophies and views on the political concepts of nationalism, socialism, communism and fascism. As a result the totalitarian terror and intense ideological debate invoked by the text does not make for light reading, but the novel is an acknowledged literary masterpiece that is recommended to all mature readers.

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Summary: 1984 is the most "contemporary" book around - read it now!
Review: Having just re-read 1984 it struck me that, whilst the quality of the writing is "timeless," (Orwell constructs a better sentence than most "literary artists"), the book's themes get more and more frightening as Western culture decays toward the millennium. My first school reading was in the days when 1984 was literally "the future," (even though Orwell had always intended it as a satire on contemporary Britain, with "1948" the originally intended title); in England today the resonances are especially profound, and what looked "old-fashioned" to 'sixties and 'seventies sci-fi readers has gained a new and bleaker realism. We're beginning to catch up with the US when it comes to presidential-style "leadership" and "spin," whilst the rewriting of history - with its horrible parallels with the politically correct mythologies espoused in transatlantic universities and the like - is already being implemented, with particular regard to the guilty denial of the achievements of the British Empire, (whilst the Roman and Greek civilisations still manage to escape trendy censure).

The worst shock comes with the realisation that everything 1984 says about the manipulation and reduction of thought by language-control, (Doublethink and Newspeak, respectively), is demonstrably happening right now. Things you can't say become thoughts you can't think, and an attempted conversation with most contemporary English youths on the street will reveal how hard it has become for our ill-educated masses actually to formulate rationale thought: what you get is a monotonic patois recitation of received simplistic opinion - or a boot stamping on your face, followed by a law-suit for your assault on them! One recent encounter left me with the reflection that we are so far from Shakespeare one could weep; then I read 1984 again, where Orwell has Winston wake up one morning with the name on his lips, a fleeting memory of a better past. The book is brilliantly written, shockingly painful and horribly, horribly relevant! (It's also fantastically entertaining and often very funny). Read it, read it again, and read it to your children!

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Summary: Must read
Review: Orwell's book is one of those masterpieces that are not only entertaining but are also educational. Author's ideas have many references to Marxism, Stalinism and Fascism. Orwell himself said that he wrote the book after watching political trends around the globe. Many could also find similarities to the Foucault's biopower or Baudrillard's simulacrum. The book depicts life in the totalitarian regime where government not only has control over your physical body but also over your mind. I am not sure if we can compare this book to today's political situation although there are plenty of interesting predictions that are in some way prophetic. For example book describes how the government used war to create fear and fanaticism in it's individuals. How the hatred was inspired by selecting various targets in the form of enemies which could either be real or imaginary but nevertheless provided good basis for manipulating the minds of people. The book is both a science fiction and at the same time a social analysis of modern political atmoshpere. Government of 1984 motives for power was simply power in itself. I don't believe such motive will cause you to destroy human nature within your society to establish control. After all such control is analogous to farmers control over cattle which don't possess free will and are under total influence of its owner. Why would a government choose to control a mindless body of individuals, zombies that offer no interesting input to society. There must always be a degree of freedom in order for creativity to exist and progress endure. Without any channels present where individuals can let their steam out such systems will collapse on itself since members will become oblivious to the world they live in. The book mentions that government wanted to destroy human nature but in doing so it destroys the very thing that it governs. Anyway the book is a great food for thought and allows a reader many insights into modern day politics and mind set. Anyone even remotely interested in science fiction or politics or just looking for something intellectual should read it.

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Summary: A religious warning that is still relevant today
Review: To me this novel is unmistakingly about religious doctrine, not just totalitarian governments and the terrors associated with revolution. The way people are told to believe in the Party (Christianity) even though they have the intelligence to reason that it is totally illogical. I can see no difference between someone who has faith and someone who is prepared to use doublethink to mentally condition themselves. Both require the user to operate at two levels - to apply scientific fact for instance to construct televisions and rocket engines, and then to be able to switch into illogical rambling and decide that they believe an obscure doctrine that has no basis in fact.

That is why Orwells ideas cannot be dismissed as "far-fetched" and irrelevant. If the faithful ever gain the whip hand of society we may well see ourselves being repressed into acceptance of ignorance and the worship of Big Brother (God). What is it they tell us as children? That God is omnipotent and can see everything? Does that sound similar? The telescreens and microphones are simply an extensions of God`s apparent omnipotence and the Thought Police the modern dy equivalent of the Spanish Inquistion.

I found it very ironic that one reader claims that his desert island books would be 1984 and the Bible. The former is a book that warns against society discarding intelligent thought and reason, the latter is a book that through the ages has caused that to occur.

Everyone should read this book if they can. There are many levels of comparison other than that of religion of course, but it is here that I see the most relevance to contempoary society.

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Summary: The History Lesson You Wish you Had
Review: George Orwell's final novel, 1984, was written amidst the anti-communist hysteria of the cold war. But unlike Orwell's other famous political satire, Animal Farm, this novel is filled with bleak cynicism and grim pessimism about the human race. When it was written, 1984 stood as a warning against the dangerous probabilities of communism. And now today, after communism has crumbled with the Berlin Wall; 1984 has come back to tell us a tale of mass media, data mining, and their harrowing consequences.

It's 1984 in London, a city in the new überstate of Oceania, which contains what was once England, Western Europe and North America. Our hero, Winston Smith works in the Ministry of Truth altering documents that contradict current government statements and opinions. Winston begins to remember the past that he has worked so hard to destroy, and turns against The Party. Even Winston's quiet, practically undetectable form of anarchism is dangerous in a world filled with thought police and the omnipresent two-way telescreen. He fears his inevitable capture and punishment, but feels no compulsion to change his ways.

Winston's dismal observations about human nature are accompanied by the hope that good will triumph over evil; a hope that Orwell does not appear to share. The people of Oceania are in the process of stripping down the English language to its bones. Creating Newspeak, which Orwell uses only for examples and ideas which exist only in the novel. The integration of Newspeak into the conversation of the book. One of the new words created is doublethink, the act of believing that two conflicting realities exist. Such as when Winston sees a photograph of a non-person, but must reason that that person does not, nor ever has, existed.

The inspiration for Winston's work ,may have come from Russia. Where Stalin's right-hand man, Trotzky was erased from all tangible records after his dissention from the party. And the fear of telescreens harks back to the days when Stasi bugs were hooked to every bedpost, phone line and light bulb in Eastern Europe.

His reference to Hitler Youth, the Junior Spies, which trains children to keep an eye out for thought criminals- even if they are their parents; provides evidence for Orwell's continuing presence in pop culture. "Where men can't walk, or freely talk, And sons turn their fathers in." is a line from U2's 1993 song titled "The Wanderer".

Orwell assumes that we will pick up on these political allusions. But the average grade 11 student will probably only have a vague understanding of these due to lack of knowledge. It is even less likely that they will pick up on the universality of these happenings, like the fact that people still "disappear" without a trace every day in Latin America.

Overall, however, the book could not have been better written. Orwell has created characters and events that are scarily realistic. Winston's narration brings the reader inside his head, and sympathetic with the cause of the would-be-rebels. There are no clear answers in the book, and it's often the reader who has to decide what to believe. But despite a slightly unresolved plot, the book serves its purpose. Orwell wrote this book to raise questions; and the sort of questions he raised have no easy answer. This aspect can make the novel somewhat of a disappointment for someone in search of a light read. But anyone prepared to not just read, but think about a novel, will get a lot out of 1984.

1984, is not a novel for the faint of heart, it is a gruesome, saddening portrait of humanity, with it's pitfalls garishly highlighted. Its historic importance has never been underestimated; and it's reemergence as a political warning for the 21st century makes it deserving of a second look. Winston's world of paranoia and inconsistent realities is an eloquently worded account of a future we thought we buried in our past; but in truth may be waiting just around the corner.

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Summary: influential, but overrated
Review: Orwell's most well-known novel may have changed the English language, but that doesn't save it from being a somewhat overrated work of fiction.

First, the positives: Orwell is an excellent writer as such - the prose is perfectly fine, transparent, and readable. His critique of Soviet language-terrorism (the "newspeak" of the novel) is dead-on. There are moments of great tension, and the atmosphere of terror is effectively maintained throughout.

However, the prose can also be pretty bland, and Orwell can't resist the urge to get overly didactic to make some of his points (take, for example, the interrogation, which sometimes reads more like a propoganda pamphlet than a novel). His characters are dull at best - and as his ironies get more sadistic, they lose all interest. He's so desperate to make his point that it becomes overkill.

But in the end, the major failing is that Orwell denies the novel any humanity, or any sense of human warmth. In a novel that is supposed to serve as a warning about the cold regimentation of society, we need an author who's not guilty of the same cold, formulaic approach as the society as he criticizes - otherwise the whole point is undermined. If mental, emotional, and physical freedom are really the powerful (and playful) forces Orwell claims they are, then we as readers need to feel this - but Orwell is incapable of cracking a smile. As D.H. Lawrence said of Melville: "One wearies of the grand serieux. There's something false about it... Oh dear, when the solemn ass brays! brays! brays!"

It's not simply a matter of form following fuction (bland prose for a bland society): I'd highly recommend reading Zamyatin's novel "We", which - let's face it - Orwell practically ripped off. The key difference is that Zamyatin allows those things like humor, love, and playfulness to sneak in through the cracks... before they're crushed by the totalitarian state around them. While Orwell delivers a "message," Zamyatin delivers a novel. You'll be surprised how much more effective, moving, infuriating, and clever Zamyatin's approach is, why Orwell borrowed so much from it, and why 1984 pales in comparison.

So: read it for entertainment, if you enjoy dystopian literature. Its influence has been enormous, and there are things to enjoy. But feel free to laugh at Orwell's pretentions: it's your right.

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Summary: 1984 Review
Review: The book 1984 by George Orwell was a very interesting yet different book. I had read Animal Farm and thought it was decent so I figured why not try 1984. The book takes place in the future in a time when everyone must obey the law. There are hidden telescreens that are around to view anyone who goes against the law. The book was kind of hard to understand at first because of the language but after the first few chapters I was able to slide right through out. I found it to be very enjoyable because I like the science fiction type genre. Also, it was a different kind of science fiction since it wasn't based on aliens; it was based more on futuristic type inventions and the pros and cons that arose. I would definetly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in sci-fi type books. There really isn't a required reading level but it is probably better for advanced middle school readers and high school readers because of the language and topics covered.

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Summary: The World in Crisis
Review: George Orwell's 1984, which was written in 1949, is a frightening vision of what the world could turn into in just three and a half decades. This addicting novel takes place in the city of London, in the territory of Oceania, which contains Africa, the Americas, and much of Europe. It is the story of Winston Smith, one of the last non-believers in the principles of "the party." This party is a governing body of startling proportions and power. The party has the influence to erase the past, and change it to better suit their needs. Anything they say goes, and those who oppose them are tortured and killed. In a world of fear and absolute control, Winston is one of the last believers that the party can eventually be overthrown. Winston believes that "If there is hope... it lies in the proles." Winston's hope is that eventually these proles, or members of the working class, will ultimately rise up and cause the downfall of the party.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is ready for something to read that will make him or her think. This is a book that is not for the squeamish reader. If you are looking for a charming tale to lift your spirits, you are looking in the wrong place. 1984 is a thought provoking piece that force you to question the world around you and think about the possibilities that the quite possibly come to pass in the not-so-distant future.

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Summary: This Book is Awesome!
Review: In a time when the government has enough power to control the past, present and future, in a time where you don't even have the right to think freely, in a time when the government can see and hear your every move, how can you fight to free yourself? 1984 by George Orwell is a classic novel which describes the journey of one person and his struggle to gain freedom of body and mind. Winston, a middle aged man lives as most others do, controlled by the supreme leader known as "Big Brother" and the political party supporting him. The party is powerful enough to control the past and therefore shape and create the future. As a lower level employee for the Ministry of Truth, (one of three regions in the party) Winston is required to rewrite articles and printings which contradict any declarations made by the party. While he knows that he is indeed rewriting the past, he is only slowly coming to the realization that the party and "Big Brother" are merely seeking power and supremacy.

This is an amazing story which kept me hooked right from the beginning. Orwell has seen into the future of our society and shown us what our world could be like when a government has too much power. You are able to jump into Winston's mind and begin to feel the same hatred and resentment towards Big Brother as he does. I definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy a crazy story with many ups and downs that literally keeps you guessing until the last sentence. Remember, Big Brother is watching you!

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Summary: An awesome idea
Review: 1984 is by far one of the best books I have ever read. The whole idea is ingenious. What would be the worst possible life be 25 years from now? It's just incredible and horrific at the same time. The whole idea of the Party is great. Orwell takes almost every tyrannical regime, unfair religious doctrine, corrupted practice and form of government from history and compiles it into one monster power; in hopes of deterring people from following the path, he fears, the world is travelling in towards totalitarianism.
The best part of the book is the range and amount of depth there is in each page, just waiting to be picked apart by some curious mind like myself. Though despite all these wonderful qualities, 1984 has some gruesome images so it might not be one of those bedbooks for traditional soccer moms. Overall 1984 is incredibly well written and a history lesson in itself.