George Orwell: Nineteen Eighty-Four

lenny nero said:

I have heard 2 different theories on Orwell's intent with this book. One is that he wrote it as a portent of what could happen and the other is that he wrote it as a reflection of the times in which he was living, he just switched the last 2 numbers in the title. Which one do you guys think it is?

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I felt it was a portent of what could happen.

I appreciated this book, but I didn't enjoy it, at all.

I felt 1984 was too close to the totalitarian regime the U.S. has at present [Rumsfeld, Cheney, et al]. It was creepy.

It was a very accurate depiction of a totalitarian society, but I didnt like it at all.
We studied it in class and I just didnt like it. I like the idea of it, but not the way it was delivered.

Lani

Orwell's 1948 is a masterpiece. He describes the flaws and the bizarre way that culture and the balance between people and blah blah blah

HBinjection said:

I am surprised how many who have read and enjoyed 1984 claim they don't enjoy science fiction. What do they think science fiction is?

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I'm one of those people. I guess when I think Science Fiction I think alien worlds, elves, dwarves, hobbits, and things like that.

One thing that surprises me about 1984 is the amount of parents that come in to the bookstore to buy the book for their kids, and they ask about it like they've never heard of the book before. I always wonder "who's never heard of 1984?" I mean not everyone has read it, but I guess I take for granted that everyone at least knows the basic premise of the book.

confidential3 said:

I felt 1984 was too close to the totalitarian regime the U.S. has at present [Rumsfeld, Cheney, et al]. It was creepy.

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i think that's what makes this book so powerful-- at any point in time there are going to be parallels to be made. it's a completely possible (and certainly terrifying) future being presented.

i've read 1984 3 times-- once when i was young (about 13 or 14), again when i was 20 and again about a year ago (at 24). each time i got something different out of it, just as each time i was reading it at a very different point in my life and stage of political awareness.

the first time, being very young and not really understanding the idea of a totalitarian (sp?) style of government, the parallels i found myself drawing throughout the book were akin my own interpretation of government in places like the USSR and China.

the second time i was in a more analytical headspace-- learning about conflicts isreal, afghanistan and elsewhere through my studies in journalism at college and being much more aware of the various states of things around the world. This time i read with much more focus on the literary devices and direct references used throughout the book. the result was that i started to look at my own government and those related to it, looking at foreign and internal policies to find evidence of what i was reading in a more direct sense. the book was a great deal scarier.

the last time i read it, i found myself becoming more passionate about the topics involved because of the evidence of such similar ideas actually presenting themselves through current events. i found more and more that simply reading the story and knowing how it ended while watching the news and seeing the developments known as 'the war on terror'... it was actually upsetting. i can honestly say that, for the first time in conscious memory, i actually lost sleep over the implications given to me by a book. it went to such a point that i had to abandon the book in favor of a funny/very crude book about alien invasion written by a Douglas Adams impersonator.

will i ever read the book again? probably someday. for my own sake, though, i hope 'someday' they're won't be so many direct parallels to keep my awake at night

I loved this book, but it scared me almost as much as a Stephen King book. I look at what my government says and don't say as in Ignorance is Strength. A large population of our country believes they have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, if that isn't double-think then I don't know what is. Big Bush, I mean Big Brother, could be listening on my phone conversation or looking at what I am typing. I get the feeling someone is coming down the hall to take me to Room 101

As a book of ideas, 1984 has to be one of the best ever written. Even 60 years on every detail feels like it could come true if humanity takes a wrong turn. But I didn't think much of the story - maybe there were just too many good ideas to leave room for good characters? In that respect, I think Animal Farm is a lot better (if perhaps marginally less chilling).

I have a nineteen eighty-four mug! It's orange.

bmwguy said:

George Orwell's "1984" is by far (withe the exception of the Bible)one of the most profound books I've ever read!

Anyone else have any comments/questions regarding George Orwell or any of his works?

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Hi

I agree it's one of the best political/psychological works written. It seems to have been used as a blueprint by politicians since the day it was published.

However, did you know that Orwell was originally reluctant to have it published? "1984" is so closely based on Russian writer Yevgeny Zamyatin's 1921 novel "We" that Orwell thought he would be accused of plagiarism (he wrote about this fear several times in his letters, which are also a great read by the way). But "We" was not freely available in the West, so Orwell's publishers felt "1984"'s publication would not be a problem.

"We" is also a great novel (it was available as a Penguin Modern Classic, but I'm not sure if it's still in print). It's set in a Utopian future (in fact, it's almost a sci-fi novel), but its narrative is the same as "1984". Like Orwell's novel, Zamyatin's is also essentially a story of illicit romance in a political context. However, Zamyatin wrote his novel from personal experience. His novel was outlawed by the Soviet regime as its political allusions were so obvious. The Soviets were always suspicious of romantic attachments as the emotion of love is not detectable or, more importantly, controllable by the State. Zamyatin captured this aspect of Soviet paranoia admirably.

Warning - spoiler! "We" ends the same way that "1984" does. It even has the same torture room where victims are confronted by their worst fears. Stylistically I think "We" is a better novel than "1984", but Orwell's novel is more "on the money" in its in-depth political analysis.

My favourite moment from "1984" is when everyone is forced to attend a huge military parade. In the middle of the parade, giant banners are unfurled declaring that the official "enemies" are now actually the "good guys", and vice versa. Not only that, but the new "bad guys" have always been the enemy, and vice versa. Very deja vu. When I look at some of the dodgy people our leaders deal with (Saddam, Musharef, Gadafi, etc) I always think of that passage.

Regards
The Doogster

I loved 1984, as well as its near contemporary Brave New World. Orwell is a fantastic writer. I'm currently reading a collection of his essays. If you get the chance, definitely read them. Much of Orwell's writing is informed by the horror of war - first the Spanish Civil War then, of course, World War II. It really is quite amazing.

i've never heard of "we" i should read it.

i've read both 1984 and animal farm and they were both wonderful, of course, but i think he went a little overboard with the making fun of the soviet union part. my parents and grandparents lived and grewup in the soviet union and while stalin was stalin, I think orwell overdid it a bit. I think he focuses too much on the bad aspects and maximizes them while failing to see the discoveries and breakthroughts of the soviet people, and that it wasn't all that bad.

2084 takes Orwell into a robotic future | Film | guardian.co.uk

It's redundant to point out the impact that George Orwell's 1984 has had on popular culture over the years – inspiring everything from cinema to television to journalism to a towering pile of hamfisted concept albums – and yet there's a downside to this. In a world of Big Brother and Room 101 and doublespeak, there's a danger that new generations will just see the book as a bundle of oblique references and not a complete work of literature in itself.

Or at least they would, but for the benevolent geniuses that are Howard Gordon and James Wong, the men behind 24 and the first and third Final Destination movies respectively. Between them, Howard and Wong have devised a film – and an inevitable young-adult fiction franchise – titled 2084. It sounds brilliant. Not only is the title a stone-cold work of genius (because, after all, 2084 is a hundred more than 1984, so it's probably a hundred times better) but it also has a killer premise. According to reports, 2084 will be 1984, but with terminators in it. Who wouldn't want to watch that?

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Someone once said that "1984" was an indubitable work of brilliance, but unfortunately those seeking power (or those already in power) seem to look to it for what to do rather than what not to do. Doublespeak, for one, seems an inherent part of political speak.

The power of "1984" will waft around your mind for years after the back cover closes. It still haunts me. The movie (the good one) brings it a little too much to life. Let's just hope people don't learn too much from it.

You guys reminded me of this book. I have wanted to read it for a while, I need to add it to the top of my list.

SylvieB1984 said:

You guys reminded me of this book. I have wanted to read it for a while, I need to add it to the top of my list.

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Same here, last time I read it was for high school many years ago. It will be moved to near the top of my tbr list as well.

I`ve read the English version (I`m German) a few days ago. This book is still a masterpiece and a great part of Orwell`s vision is still realistic.

1984 is the kind of books which you need to read every 2-4 years or whenever you feel the need for it. It is a must in your library...

Interesting. Thanks for posting that, beer good.