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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
!984 - A shocking future from 1949, October 17, 2008
It is truly amazing to look at the fantastic writing minds of our grandparents' time. Post-WWII fever hung over the population and many were clueless, or even fearful for not knowing what lie before them. And, unlike many, George Orwell was a man who was not afraid to show what he interpreted as a possible future for not only our country, but the entire world.
In his novel, 1984, Orwell crafted a post-apocalyptic world in which the planet's powers had been divided into three portions; Oceania, which consisted of the Americas, Eurasia, comprised continental Europe and northern Asia, and Eastasia, which, as its title implies, covered most of the eastern Asian continent.
The story follows the life of a middle aged man named Winston Smith, another Drone of Eurasia's Main power, The conspicuous Party, whose god-like leader and people-worshiped Big Brother, control everyday life.
Except for the homes the proles, who are sort of like peasants, every room is garmented with a Telescreen, a sort of T.V. which can never be turned off or muted. Unfortunately, it can also see and hear everything going on in the room.
Most standard crime has been wiped out due to massive military force, and so the party, in its never ending search for power, falls upon people with psychic powers to detect felonous thoughts in people. These psychics are known as the thought police, and constantly track down and "delete" people who are convicted of crimethink (a word from Eurasia's new national language, called Newspeak).
Our "hero", Winston's job is to help the party erase any evidence of their saying or doing anything wrong, to control their people's minds and
opinions of the party. Ultimately, they are "Censoring the past". One day the country could be at war with Eastasia, the next, Eurasia, and the entire populace would accept that they had always been at war with Eurasia, and any thoughts otherwise was crimethink.
Winston, unhappy with this life and detesting the party, secretly purchases a pen and diary, the use of both have been outlawed for some time. This is simply the beginning in a long string of rebellion, love, and unanswered questions that keep this book in your mind whenever you are not reading it.
This is one of the most fantastic sci-fi novel experiences I have ever had, and while particular sections of the book can drag on for far too long, the character depth and plot more than makes up for it. Anyone who wishes to deny this book as a classic great has not the brains to understand it, and therefore cannot accurately judge its prowess.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
1984 Overview, (From William Cuddy, age 9), November 26, 2006
A Kid's Review
1984 overview/review
In the beginning of 1984, Winston, you might think, is a normal Outer Party member, but when you get to the second chapter, it becomes clear that he is against Big Brother, the hero of the totalitarian state he lives in.
An obscure friend of his, Syme, lectures him on newspeak at cafeteria's, his "Girlfriend", Julia, appears before as another Outer Party member, slipping a note into Winston's pocket in the bathroom, reading, "I love you". Confirming the fact that Julia does not want to kill Winston, but the exact opposite. O'Brien, the friend of Winston, though also his torturer in the Ministry of love, (Miniluv) incorporates him into a secret society, "The Brotherhood." O'Brien gives Winston a quick glance, in turn beginning their friendship. Eventually Julia and Winston are found out by the Thought Police and both are brought to the Ministry of Love for torture, after which, Winston finds himself in a café. Winston is brainwashed into thinking certain ideas, ending with Winston himself succumbing to the thought police. A truly depressing and suspenseful book, a book that all should read.
Even though Oceania is a controlled government, it still has signs of falling apart. Oceania is in constant war, and indicates that it is destroying itself, for the sake of the war, perhaps for propaganda. Newspeak is the language of Oceania, and a propaganda language as well, the three slogans that the party has, "Ignorance is Strength," "War is Peace," and "Freedom is Slavery." Are quite untrue, but the Proles choose not to worry about it, while party members use "Doublethink" mostly.
Suggesting this is a good book is unworthy, this is an AWESOME book, so you should read it, get depressed.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deviates corrected for their own good, May 6, 2007
In a society that has eliminated many imbalances, surplus goods, and even class struggle, there are bound to be deviates; Winston Smith is one of those. He starts out, due to his inability to doublethink, with thoughtcrime. This is in a society that believes a thought is as real as the deed. Eventually he graduates through a series of misdemeanors to illicit sex and even plans to overthrow the very government that took him in as an orphan.
If he gets caught, he will be sent to the "Ministry of Love" where they have a record of 100% cures for this sort of insanity. They will even forgive his past indiscretions.
Be sure to watch the three different movies made from this book:
1984 (1954) Peter Cushing is Winston Smith
1984 (1956) Edmond O'Brien is Winston Smith
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) John Hurt is Winston smith
1984
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