Saturday, June 27, 2015

1984

1984, George Orwell. Classic, 298 pages (plus an appendix and afterword, which don't need to be read, but give some great insight). Review by Samantha Nelson.

First off, I would just like to say I need to stop reading sad/depressing books. I just read Regine's Book, 1984, and now I'm reading Sarah's Key! If anyone has a happy poetry anthology (not Shel Silverstein, I've already read one by him) I would love to hear about it.

I should probably clarify on the whole depressing thing. Let's start off with a quote from the afterword (written by Eric Fromm).

"George Orwell's 1984 is the expression of a mood, and it is a warning. The mood it expresses is that of near despair about the future of man, and the warning that unless the course of history changes, men all over the world will lose their most human qualities… and will not even be aware of it."

Translation: This book is about a world where mankind loses the ability to love, to hate, to long for something. All feelings cease to exist. All feelings, that is, except for the love of Big Brother. Big Brother is the leader of the Party. Though the book never specifies whether or not Big Brother is a real person, you get the idea that he doesn't exist, at least not in the sense that he is an actual human being. Big Brother is the government, the whole inner party. And he is always watching.

This book focuses on Winston Smith, a man about forty years old whose job is to rewrite the past. Of course, that's not what his job was officially. Winston was supposed to "correct errors" in speeches, newspapers, etc. Whenever he got a new piece to edit, it was always said that someone had been misquoted or an error had occurred, never that the party had been wrong, or was lying. This was a concern for Winston. No accurate, true record of the past could be found anywhere. The government basically controlled the pass.

Winston decides he has had enough. He has started writing in a diary. He has to do so secretly, as he is always being watched. Writing in a diary can get you accused of thoughtcrime. If you are found guilty of thoughtcrime, you will be wiped out, obliterated. The Party will erase all evidence of you. You will never have existed. 

There is a rumor that there is a group of people rebelling against Big Brother called the brotherhood. Winston goes out in search of the brotherhood.

I could write twice as much about this book, but I don't dare say any more for fear I'll give away spoilers. That, and this review is getting way too long. Orwell's ideas about the limits of the human mind are astounding. I am wondering what he was thinking as he was writing this book. What kind of dark state of mind was he in?

As for recommending this book; It was fascinating in a kind of awful way. It made me consider things I wouldn't have otherwise. 

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