George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four

[tomarin]

The Thought Police don’t call themselves that; they call themselves news media.

Well, except we don’t have a totalitarian government, and the press adopts an adversarial stance to the government we do have when the side they’re unsympathetic to is in power.

Double-plus good!

Anyway, I never made it very far through 1984, despite loving “Animal Farm” and enjoying a number of Orwell’s non-fiction works: “Homage to Catalonia,” “Down and Out in Paris and London,” etc. I find 1984 too relentlessly gloomy and "closed’ artistically to give it a chance. There’s no air in there.

Another dystopic novel I never read was “Brave New World”. It would be interesting to compare and contrast those two.

 

[JimG]

Well, except we don’t have a totalitarian government, and the press adopts an adversarial stance to the government we do have when the side they’re unsympathetic to is in power.

Double-plus good!

Anyway, I never made it very far through 1984, despite loving “Animal Farm” and enjoying a number of Orwell’s non-fiction works: “Homage to Catalonia,” “Down and Out in Paris and London,” etc. I find 1984 too relentlessly gloomy and "closed’ artistically to give it a chance. There’s no air in there.

Another dystopic novel I never read was “Brave New World”. It would be interesting to compare and contrast those two.

Yes, “Animal Farm” seemed to make the exact same points as “1984” but with better writing. As least it was more readable.

 

[tomarin]

Yes, “Animal Farm” seemed to make the exact same points as “1984” but with better writing. As least it was more readable.

So why does 1984 seem to “hog” all the limelight?

Pun intended.

 

[JimG]

So why does 1984 seem to “hog” all the limelight?

Pun intended.

Good question, but I don’t know the answer. I just recall reading them both in the same year and thinking, wow, it’s the same book, but Animal Farm does it better! Maybe people just don’t resonate with animal characters.

 

[KevinAK]

I preferred 1984 to Animal Farm.

 

[tomarin]

I preferred 1984 to Animal Farm.

Tell me more.

 

[datritle]

Don’t have to read it. I* live* it - I am an American. Except over here the title is Political Correctness

right, we are living in a totalitarian nightmare. don’t hyperbolize… it cheapens the truth. by the way, you know george orwell was a SOCIALIST! OOOoooOOOOoooohhhhhh/hHHHHHh!!!

 

[datritle]

Yes, “Animal Farm” seemed to make the exact same points as “1984” but with better writing. As least it was more readable.

animal farm is about the russian revolution…

 

[tomarin]

animal farm is about the russian revolution…

And 1984 is about the Soviet state, or so I’ve been told. Uncle Joe Stalin is Big Brother.

 

[Mostyn]

I am reading a new book called , Orwell, Huxley and the Fallacies of Futurity.
By Robert Neville.

For part of the book he imagines a conversation between these two great writers just after 1984 came out, and therefore just before Orwell’s own untimely death.
The other bits look at the themes in the book and some of the main ideas.
What I liked about it was that it does not buy into the standard line we seem to get nowadays, that their two great novels are prophetic. Instead, Neville perceptively sees both men agreeing that they are more warnings than anything else. Obviously I can see the writer has done a lot of research, but its engaging and though provoking to read with many, many ideas in it. I bought it on Amazon.

A must read.

amazon.co.uk/Orwell-Huxley-The-Fallacies-Futurity/dp/1291951555#reader_1291951555

 

[Tarpeian_Rock]

So much of what Orwell wrote about turns out to have come true, not the least of which is the U.S. media-driven and academic “thought police,” and even the hijacking of the English Language so that some words no longer mean what they did even a few years ago. Even formerly clear words like “male” and “female” no longer apparently mean what they did. I recently saw a list of 20+ “genders.” I can remember when there were only two. And God help you if you mis-use one of today’s “sacred words” and run afoul of the harpies of political correctness. You become an “unperson” (as Orwell foresaw) and potentially lose the right to a job, own a business, run for office, etc.

 

[Kithrus]

I find it funny the same people who praise 1984 for its insight will in the same sentence condemn my affiliation with Anonymous.

I’m sorry that most people are sitting in the pot getting ready to boil but stop pointing at the hypothetical pot in a book and let me and others get you out of the pot you are in.

right, we are living in a totalitarian nightmare. don’t hyperbolize… it cheapens the truth. by the way, you know george orwell was a SOCIALIST! OOOoooOOOOoooohhhhhh/hHHHHHh!!!

I rest my case.
Nice damning the source there datritle, you normally ignore truth based on who says it or is that treatment just reserved for the net?

 

[Leo2014]

right, we are living in a totalitarian nightmare. don’t hyperbolize… it cheapens the truth. by the way, you know george orwell was a SOCIALIST! OOOoooOOOOoooohhhhhh/hHHHHHh!!!

I like George Orwell, I have read 1984 multiple times. I thought I had is that Orwell should have made a prequel; 1983 (Kidding)? I mean what lead up to the drama they were experiencing? How did the society become so subservient to Big Brother? In mean the detail events…

One of the problems encountered within every society is a form of political correctness. However, we all participate; name calling or one word associations that apparently are supposed to make us feel out casted. The polarization that takes place during the start of an election cycle is one that I find disturbing. The reality is we are no better at the end of a political cycle. But we cling to the idea that our candidate will make it better next time.

George a socialist? He was not alone, other writers among his contemporaries (and some of my favorites); Hemingway and Salinger had similar viewpoints. I love their writing style, it’s expressive and liberal at pointing out the inequalities of their times. It should be an obligation for each of us to attempt to make our corner a little better than when we arrived. George was just making his contributions…

 

[estesbob]

Great book along with Animal Farm and Brave New World it is scary how quickly we are moving towards the societies they depict

 

[tomarin]

I like George Orwell, I have read 1984 multiple times. I thought I had is that Orwell should have made a prequel; 1983 (Kidding)? I mean what lead up to the drama they were experiencing? How did the society become so subservient to Big Brother? In mean the detail events…

One of the problems encountered within every society is a form of political correctness. However, we all participate; name calling or one word associations that apparently are supposed to make us feel out casted. The polarization that takes place during the start of an election cycle is one that I find disturbing. The reality is we are no better at the end of a political cycle. But we cling to the idea that our candidate will make it better next time.

George a socialist? He was not alone, other writers among his contemporaries (and some of my favorites); Hemingway and Salinger had similar viewpoints. I love their writing style, it’s expressive and liberal at pointing out the inequalities of their times. It should be an obligation for each of us to attempt to make our corner a little better than when we arrived. George was just making his contributions…

I don’t claim to understand George Orwell’s politics, but I think of him as a dissident socialist, and that makes him (strangely) a hero to people of the left and the right alike.

 

[Leo2014]

I don’t claim to understand George Orwell’s politics, but I think of him as a dissident socialist, and that makes him (strangely) a hero to people of the left and the right alike.

I would also have to claim to not be an expert on Orwell’s political views. However, his writings seem to be more in support of the dissident. The struggles he illustrated can relate to individuals regardless of partisan politics. If you lived enough years, you start to notice that no matter who is in charge; wrong doing has been allowed to propagate. The worst part is that we are so quick to blame others when it does become apparent. Orwell just provides “Food for Thought”.

 

[styrgwillidar]

Don’t have to read it. I* live* it - I am an American. Except over here the title is Political Correctness

I find that Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” more closely depicts where we’ve gotten than “1984”, “Brave New World”, or “Animal Farm”. But it’s a tougher read… kudos to you if you can get through John Galt’s radio speech in one go.

 

[Leo2014]

I find that Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” more closely depicts where we’ve gotten than “1984”, “Brave New World”, or “Animal Farm”. But it’s a tougher read… kudos to you if you can get through John Galt’s radio speech in one go.

I have not read Atlas Shrugged yet, it’s on my list; I just seem to keep putting other material in front of it. However, I don’t think any of these novels are a clear depiction of society? I mean, “Brave New World”; a society were sex plays a large role in determining our freedom from our happiness? That is another topic…

In regards to Ayn Rand, I understand she grew up in Russia as a non-practicing Jew during the time that experience the Bolshevik Revolution. She had a liking to the philosophy of Nietzsche. Therefore, it is no wonder she favors a totally free capitalist society. But within our lifetime, we have seen that when capitalism experiences a crises that they cannot handle, they too will run to government as their savior.

Hence, none of these books are or will be an accurate depiction of our society. In the best case, they reflect a small vignette that we can learn from the illustration.

 

[estesbob]

I find that Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” more closely depicts where we’ve gotten than “1984”, “Brave New World”, or “Animal Farm”. But it’s a tougher read… kudos to you if you can get through John Galt’s radio speech in one go./QUOTE

“There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.”

– John Rogers

 

[styrgwillidar]

styrgwillidar;13043977:

I find that Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” more closely depicts where we’ve gotten than “1984”, “Brave New World”, or “Animal Farm”. But it’s a tougher read… kudos to you if you can get through John Galt’s radio speech in one go.

Have you read “Atlas Shrugged”? Of all the dystopian novels I’ve read, it comes closest to depicting society and the crony capitalism and corruption of our modern world.