Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Nineteen Eighty-Four
Book Review: Incredible book!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was blown away by this book, couldn't put it down. The similarities with today are a bit scary. It's a great horror without the horror, if you know what I mean.Book Review: Introduction to Big Brother
Summary: 5 Stars
1984 is without a doubt one of the best books ever written. It shows the reader the consequences of having an authorative government going to the extremes in controlling the thoughts and actions of its citizens. 1984 also brings up in interesting idea about the reasons for wars. According to Orwell, wars are fought not to gain territory but to get rid of the excess of material and wealth the citizens create. Another way to look at the book is to take our contempary setting of today and see what would happen if people didnt stand up for their rights and beliefs and laid all their trusts and fears upon their government.Book Review: It Happens Gradually People
Summary: 5 Stars
Bottom-Line: I implore all freedom loving people to read "1984"; it is depressing, but then again so is life in general for the most part.
First published in 1950, "1984" is a chilling, depressing, and yes, heartbreaking look into the future existence of mankind. It is a world that is at once dark, bleak, joyless, loveless and utterly without hope. Human's are as humans have always been, divided into three classes, only in George Orwell's there is no hope of movement between the three; they are static, fixed, inexorably and utterly.
Religion has been banished (not an altogether bad idea), but so too has intellectual, personal, and political freedoms; mankind has been reduced to a soulless conglomeration of empty husks who do as their told, and believe whatever they are told by Big Brother, the party. Human intellectual, social, and cultural progress in any real sense has ceased for good or ill. Music, science, art, literature, is no longer the province of self, the Party owns it all.
In the world of "1984", the world has only three nations, Oceania (North America, South America, Great Britain, and Southern Africa); Eurasia (Russian, Europe and Northern Africa); and Eastasia (China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, India, etc). These nations are perpetually at war with one another, but, the aim is the neither gain, nor lose ground to the other; the aim is be at war so that the masses never expect too much, nor have reason the question the supremacy of the Party.
The Party controls all and is embodied in the persona of Big Brother, who is literally always watching or listening, via telescreens and microphones in people apartments, places of work & play. The Thought Police are never far from view. Privacy is a thing of the past, personal pleasure and leisure are frown upon, sex is a dirty joyless affair tolerated only for procreation (now doesn't that sound familiar), and the Party has three over-riding slogans the masses are controlled with; War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength. The Party has four principle ministries it uses to maintain control of the people; The Ministry of Truth, The Ministry of Love, The Ministry of Plenty, and The Ministry of Peace all of which are represented by four white monolithic building built in the heart of London where this tale unfolds.
Most of the book centers on the life, and brief love of Winston Smith, an outer Party member, who live a life of quite misery. He hates the Party and wants to rebel, but he knows Big Brother is watching, and listening, so he is forced to rebel only in his mind. But little by little, step-by-step, Winston finds way to rebel, buying a diary in which he records his thoughts, and eventually he has a forbidden love affair with a fellow party member. This leads to other flirtations and a search for the illusive Brotherhood avowed enemies of the Party.
Personal Thoughts
"1984" is an intricately woven tale of a world gone completely mad by today's standards, a world where none of use could conceive of living in, and yet there are shades of "1984" type behavior by our government darkening Republic's freedom loving horizon. After reading just a few pages of 1984, you will come away with a frightening realization; the loose of our freedoms, both intellectual and personal will not happen over night, but it will come about gradually; there will be subtle changes in the landscape, a dimming of the constitutional light that warm all of us. Already, we are at perpetual war with an enemy who can not be found, but who pops up every once in a while to taunt us, to assure us that the danger is real, just as Goldstein does in the world of "1984".
Our government, is engaged in doublespeak, bending the lies until they become the truth everyone (well at least half of the American electorate) will accept without question. This is evidenced by the fact that almost half of the America public believed (or still believe) Saddam Hussain had a hand to play in 9/11 even after the 9/11 Commission and other reports stated categorically that he did not. But Bush ties him to it right after the event, using doublespeak to mold the America mind. Already for far too many Americans Ignorance is Strength; witness the last Presidential election, the continued debate over Gay rights, school prayer, and abortion.
Politicians now seem to speak in nothing but platitudes (doublespeak) that are released like confetti at a Party Convention until the truth is swept away like so much recycling only to be reborn as a sound bite tomorrow. One Party insists that it has the lock on family values, but fails to support the family in any meaningful way, but it doesn't seem to matter to those that support the Party. And yet they, along with the rest of us are being hurt by the slow strangulation of the America family. Disheartening to say the least. And shades of Newspeak are already inserting themselves into the political lexicon; the Estate Tax becomes the Death Tax, a woman's right to choose, becomes right to life, and the fundamental rights of Gays becomes a Defense of Marriage.
George Orwell was amazingly insightful way back in 1950 to have written a book so relevant some 55 year later. The end of the book gives a rather lengthy explain of Newspeak, and the Afterword compares Orwell's work with other seminal novels that touch on the same theme: Aldos Huxley's Brave New World (next on my reading list), and Russian Zamyatin's We; it is fascinating and intellectually stimulating reading.
I implore all freedom loving people to read "1984"; it is depressing, but then again so is life in general for the most part. Not living Winston's life should in the very least give one a renewed appreciation for our own.
Book Review: It will rock you!
Summary: 5 Stars
There should be no doubt Orwell's "1984" is the gold standard for dystopian novels. It's about a Totalitarian society that exists in the future from when it was originally published in 1949 (certainly in our future as well). It's popularly believed the inspiration for "1984" came from Yevgeny Zamyatin's "We", first published in 1924, and there are similarities. Also, the suggestion, by others, that it's the direction that current politics are leading the U.S. is no doubt contributing to the story's renewed popularity. No matter the reasons, this story is frightening and depressing, but also a testament to the survivability of the human spirit. Prepare yourself though, "1984" will, without question, provide you a terrifying glimpse in a world bereft of personal freedom.
I'd forgo the foreword by Thomas Pynchon though. Read it, if you must, after you finish reading "1984".
Book Review: LTPF lover of the past and future
Summary: 4 Stars
1984, is a book every high school student should read--it is compelling and truthful about what can happen when the government is not kept in check by its citizens. Another novel, which is newer, yet fascinating, The Gateway by Castleberry, should also be read--not just by highschool students, but by anyone who appreciates our history and wants to go back in time and visit their great-grandparents. Castleberry's, The Gateway, has received only the Highest ratings and reviews on Amazon.com for its realistic blend of physics, rural American history in the late 1800's and its extremely haunting message at the end of the book.