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George Orwell's 1984: A Guide to Understanding the Classics
122 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 13, 2008
What can I say about this book? I mean what will THEY let me say?
March 24, 2008
OK I guess all the hype about 1984 had me geared up for something really spectacular...BUT I have found this book to be really un-spectacular. The back says that the world Orwell constructs is believable. Not so. I found very little that I could really latch onto and peg as having capital T truth in it. Maybe I'm not pessimistic enough?? The ending was also disappointing, I thought that he would succumb, but sheesh. There's such a lack of humanity in the whole novel, Big Brother had been so successful at routing even the most natural of human tendancies...just not believable to me.
I wanted there to be more of a sense that Winston was bamboozled by O'brien, that he and Julia were a part of the whole system. This could have been a spectacular suspense novel where Winston would have to question everyone around him, rather than having him trust a woman and she, too, wants the downfall of BB. It just didn't live up to its potential.
I wanted there to be more of a sense that Winston was bamboozled by O'brien, that he and Julia were a part of the whole system. This could have been a spectacular suspense novel where Winston would have to question everyone around him, rather than having him trust a woman and she, too, wants the downfall of BB. It just didn't live up to its potential.
April 8, 2008
This book is simply one of the best books I have ever read. Written by the beautiful mind of George Orwell, 1984 tells the story of a totalitarian government and the oppresion over its people and how two slaves of the system try to solve the mysteries of the corrupt government and find love. Everything from the description of the environment to the protrayal of the future all seem so realistic and very interesting to read about. WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH, along with doublethink are words you will read throughout the novel that seem false, but after analyzing are completely true. If you are into the science fiction genre, this book is right up your alley and combines that right amount of action, romance and introspection. It really taught me to be more proactive in politics and to use my voice in government. Read it!
October 7, 2009
Ok, I couldn't finish this book. I was interested in the whole idea of how a system could slowly take over the population and force you into everything and take away your privacy. After so many pages of sounding like sex drove everything about humans - I had to put it down. Sex is something that is supposed to be beautiful between a married man and woman and the world has turned it into a dirty and/or casual thing, but I just couldn't get over how they made it seem like if they could control your sexual desire, they could control you. I may have been reading it wrong, but couldn't finish it. Too many other books that I could be reading.
April 7, 2008
I will not lie, I have a love/hate relationship with this book. It is one of the most difficult first 35 pages you will ever try to read. It is a great concept book that fully stems from past reality (and even scarier it has present reality too), but is not one of the worlds greatest writings. I love it for its knowledge of how far the government can go in order to control us. When reading this book you may think that its ideas are far fetched, such as video cameras watching your every move ("Big Brother is Watching"), but that is a reality today. It might not be in your home, but it is most definitely right around the corner at your lovely neighborhood intersection.
October 4, 2008
I read this for the first when when I was about 15 or 16 and it totally blew the top of my head off. It changed how I understood language and how I perceived human nature. I was awed by the idea that it might be possible to control what people think, and consequently how people act, by controlling the words they use.
I wonder if it's possible that some violence that occurs within society is a result of people not having the words to express their thoughts and feelings. Probably more immediate factors affect this (powerlessness, boredom, marginalisation), but it's an interesting concept.
I wonder if it's possible that some violence that occurs within society is a result of people not having the words to express their thoughts and feelings. Probably more immediate factors affect this (powerlessness, boredom, marginalisation), but it's an interesting concept.
February 25, 2007
chilling portrait of a totalitarian goverment. sounds very much like where I'm from!!
March 5, 2007
What more can be said about this novel other than, it's double-plus good!
March 12, 2008
This book was arguably the best book i ever read. If you do one thing before you die. Read this book.
and some other books.
read.
and some other books.
read.
March 13, 2008
I love Orwell.
March 14, 2008
One of the best. Handbook for the new "freedom"
November 3, 2008
for the book club with my highschoolers - take 4? (I was in the play once!)
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews