Simply completed “1984” by George Orwell and it tore me aside
*spoilers on the finish*
I’ve all the time favored dystopian, and this one was horrendously twisted in all the most effective methods.
My favourite quote is “That the selection for mankind lay between freedom and happiness, and that, for the nice bulk of mankind, happiness was higher.” It raises the query, is freedom is even price it? Does the reality actually matter so long as you’re comfortable? Is ignorance really freedom, or is it simply freedom from unhappiness?
It is fascinating how the ebook places into perspective the truth that the federal government, or the one who has energy, can change the very core of our beliefs. They’ll make you overlook, bear in mind, consider full lies just because it serves them. Circuitously, however this is occurring in our world proper now. What number of impressions of an individual/idea have you ever developed just by listening to others on the web? Despite the fact that I attempt to discover fact for myself, I admit I’m responsible of going off of others.
What’s fact? Is fact simply outlined by the one who has essentially the most energy? They management our ideas, in order that they management what we expect is true. And even when what we expect is true just isn’t goal fact, does it actually matter? There’s an excessive amount of on this ebook I swear.
The character improvement was superb. Following the protagonist Winston, you see an unbelievable change in his morals and mindset between the start and end. It left me with a way of helplessness studying the way it ends, I wished to scream at him to not give in. However the miserable reasonable finish was what made it so impactful.
Any ideas? It would be cool to listen to another views or interpretations of 1984
Comments ( 29 )
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It’s a great book. Many people rethink their politics after reading it, because everyone seems to be authoritarian on one issue or another. The price of freedom can be high.
Now read Brave New World
It’s a great and well written book. But I don’t think it was necessarily a view into the future, but rather a comment on the effects of an unrestrained authoritarian system. It is so invasive that it controls your consciousness and knowledge. I see it also as a comment on authoritarianiism in general, which exists not only at national level, but in the workplace too.
For me the most powerful moment occurs during a party rally, when peace is made with an enemy blo and war is declared on another. The speaker switches tack without hesitation ahd the ministry of truth has to work overtime to alter the history so that it reflects the new reality.
That reality has never happened and to be honest, I think Brave New World was closer to what transpired. But Huxley was genuinely trying to extrapolate a materialistic future, while Orcwell was most certainly being allegorical.
I have this book unread and your post makes me want to read it.
If you haven’t read it yet, it might be an interesting read to go through Homage to Catalonia next. It was an impactful time in Orwell’s life that is reflected in 1984. It’s ofcourse not the sole source for the latter book, but I found it interesting to reflect on his inspirations.
It’s so subpar compared to Brave New World. Like it’d great, but look at how both books portray sex. 1984 portrays it as rebellion, whereas BNW portrays it as complacency. Sex isn’t smth the rebellion uses, but rather how the common people are kept complacent. People don’t care much about other freedoms being restricted if they’re compensated by sexual liberties, and BNW gets that while 84 doesn’t
I recently re-read it and it made me sick, especially in the last part, like I was feeling what he was going through and it was terrible. It’s a beautiful and interesting book. I need to re-read Brave new world as well.
my first dystopian novel was handmaids tail n i couldnt finish it bc i kinda got bored
is this book worth reading? im planning to order it soon
1984 is one of the most interesting reading experiences I’ve ever had. I was immediately intrigued and horrified for the first couple of chapters, which quickly became bordem as I adjusted to the brutality of the world, infact I found myself bored for great chunks of time during the middle, wishing for something BIG to happen, quickly realising our main character wasn’t a hero of the story, just another repugnant person living in the system. Only for the end to blow me away. I moved on from it quickly once finished however occasionally I’ll remember something from it even 4 years later and just think ‘damn’
1984 is entertainment only. If it were anything more, then the people who read it would not only open their eyes and change their minds, but they would also actually do something about the broken world they’re living in. In the end, it’s just two hours of entertainment then back to living in a world that sucks the life out of you.
The past few sentences of it have always stuck with me.
I lived in China for quite a while, and people there lean far more towards (government) control for the sake of order in their political thinking. Westerners tend to emphasize freedom for often unclear reasons. When discussing this with Chinese people they were like “Freedom to do what? Get shot by a random psycho?”. A harsh point to make, but very enlightening example to hear about their thinking.
Ultimately I guess it boils down to that in the West we fear the Tyrant most, while in China it’s the chaos a lack of control might bring that worries them the most.
Insightful post
I read 1984 in 1984! It shocked me to the core but that is what Orwell wanted, and was a warning about fascist ideology and its effects on people. My father spoke at length about the German people at the end of the war and how the nazis infiltrate family. If I’m honest brave new world was more insidious because people choose to lose freedom; something I am starting to see in phone use and the loss of privacy
Now read Howard Zinn’s “People’s History of the United States” and learn that everything you learned in highschool was basically a biased propaganda lie that _deliberately misrepresents_ EVERY SIGNIFICANT THING IN USA HISTORY.
– USA committed 2x genocides before WW2 Germany.
– women who made huge societal achievements were removed from history books by men.
– ongoing goal of wealthy people to subvert class consciousness in USA.
– why labor unions succeeded for a time in USA before the rich decided to go to war against labor.
-How rich wish to increase poverty and motivate for war as a control of population.
– etc
1984 is indeed one of the best dystopian books ever.
I agree. It gave me nightmares but it doesn’t seem too far fetched of a concept these days.
I think everyone should be forced to read it.
It was one of the first books I’ve read without being forced to (not a school book basically); I started reading late in life (like in the end of 2020, mid pandemic), and this was one of the first books I read in that year; I felt the same way about the book. It’s a sad book because we see how the events that take place in the book are taking place in our world, and I’d say it isn’t just the government, or “the power” that changes people’s perception, but people’s perception ignites a fire that government sees and tends, creating this monstruous thing that we’ll live in 10 ~ 20 years; In a way it’s ironic that the book’s even more important today than when it was written.
PS: if you like Nineteen Eighty-Four, you might also like Farenheit 451; it’s a great book (even though most people would say it isn’t as great as 1984), and it’s as sad as 1984 because…well…we live in that world today.
1984 is exactly like our world today, chilling
I was particularly impressed by the idea of doublethink. After reading the book I noticed that actually there are many things which I believe both to be true and false sort of simultaneously.
I believe Orwell was inspired to write 1984 after working for the BBC.
I can think of one example from Australia where history was rewritten about the reason a prime minister was removed (this happened more than once). In this example at the time the old party said the obvious truth, but was replaced by the new party who had the media and the opposition on their side. Within a couple years the new explanation became the only story that was referenced.
I’m sure this happens all the time, but a big difference from 1984 is there really was no need to single out individuals who believed the truth. It simply became irrelevant and with unanimous agreement the number of people with the irrelevant view quickly diminished.
That example probably doesn’t matter, but this is a story told again and again around indigenous issues and it’s a cruel reality. Australia currently has the vast majority professing the importance of helping indigenous people, yet decades of democratic government doing nothing experts recommend, if not making the situations worse. Why? Because of mining rights. Three guesses why the prime minister was removed. Or that one. Or that one.
I think 1984 is supposed to be a bit of a hyperbole, and his essay “politics and the English language” is a must read that gives a more focused version of similar points. I’m glad to see more readings focusing on the themes of language and thought control, rather than on authoritarianism more generally (especially when we have people yelling about 1984 who are clearly using a very tailored vocab).
Edit: for the US the NSA and mutual spying programs issue was a clear and continued violation of the constitution. Years later what’s remembered about it is some discussion about Snowden fleeing to Russia, tech bros giving opinions on politics, and the idea that whistleblowers deserve protection or not. All stuff that’s irrelevant to a regular person life. They’ve taken a highly relevant issue and taught citizens to address only irrelevant details. In my life I don’t have bandwidth to worry about this stuff, but that’s a clear 1984ish example I’ve seen in the US.
Whew. I was worried that we were gonna miss our monthly “I read 1984” thread.
Freedom is a terribly loose concept that both covers and tramples upon far too many specific aspects, including happiness of oneself and that of others. That Orwell differentiated freedom and happiness as being both illusory and antagonistic opposites speaks to me about purpose and morality, likely by extension than having specifically having been intended perhaps. Perceptions of freedom are shored up by how comfortable you believe (or are told!) your cage to be, or how little you can see (or choose to see) its walls.
Winston finds all of the built-up obfuscation and manipulation of the truth stripped away by the countryside, outside the everpresent grey cult of personality. In that place, none of these things matter, only he and the connection to things around him matter. He has a horizon, the thing a city does not possess. His focus is his own.
Most of these impressions of 1984 have been left on me since my last reading, which must be over ten years hence by now. I appreciate the haziness of my recollection, but moreso the definite impressions it left on my thinking and perceptions. Like an old pair of boots that fit seamlessly around you, than being the original, new and characterless. It’s not a book you go back to for the words, but for the meaning, and that grows with you.
100% a mandatory book for children; one to be forcefully impressed on their pliant minds repeatedly through evening jacked-in hallucinogenic brain-conditioning sessions.
I feel like it’s a very classic liberal, very early 20th century, dichotomy: freedom vs happiness. I’d go with the more New Left late 20th century approach that it’s all about power and who holds it and so happiness and freedom are both symptoms, not causes, of power distribution.
I think what’s interesting about 1984 is it was written in the late 40s/early 50 and so most of the Frankfurt school stuff, and Gramscis stuff on hegemony, either hadn’t happened yet, or it had happened but it wasn’t widely disseminated and hadn’t been translated into English. So he couldn’t have known about it. And yet he preempted it, to the point where now if you talk about manufacturing consent or the political effects of culture or hegemony or any of that stuff you can’t really talk about it without using Orwell’s language of newspeak and doublethink, “we have always been at war with…” etc… So in that sense it was radically ahead of its time politically, and laid the groundwork for the postmodernist movement which in its turn laid the groundwork for the New Left which would then question the whole freedom v happiness thing.
As for the book: it’s great, obviously. It’s a classic for a reason. I do think Julia is quite a weak character, and that Orwell can’t really write women (painful flashbacks to the Clergyman’s Daughter), but that’s nitpicking – it’s a wonderful book. Some Orwell fans can get a bit much, to the point they’ve even become something of a meme, but you can’t blame a book for its fans.
Orwell had a background in journalism, writing for the Observer in England. His storytelling abilities are therefore unquestionable. Originally, he had the USSR in mind when modeling his dystopian reality, but I guess the government he depicts in 1984 can be also applied to today’s hyptertech authoritarian regimes.
1984 is one of the greatest books every written bar none.