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1984

Have you read the (novel) '1984'?

  • Yes

    Votes: 45 90.0%

  • No, but I intend to do so

    Votes: 3 6.0%

  • No and I don't think I will

    Votes: 2 4.0%
  • Total voters
    50
chromium said:
Yeah, I can see why that would spur interest...Forced to read it in 10th grade. In fact, the *only* high school book that was worth reading. Hopefully they aren't reading it and going "I want to join the NSA now!!"
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The great irony of Orwell is that a socialist is responsible for helping influence my libertarian-leaning positions.
 
M_A said:
My high-school cut 1984 from the curriculum and instead we read the bible.
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Did anyone notice the difference? ;)

M_A said:
I read the book and thought it was okay, I don't really get the hype
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It's a good novel independently of any politics hung off it. I think it's sad that a good book has been overwhelmed by it's use as symbology. I'd even suggest the modern use of the terms "Big Brother" and "Orwellian" are often at least as reflective of some of the themes of the novel as the things they're used against.

The idea that Orwell intend 1984 as a prediction of the future is simplistic at best though and calling it prophetic laughable. While you might be able to identify similarities with some of the equipment involved in the novel and in our society today, the politics which was the core of the novel is much more complex and diverse than a direct comparison could encompass, be it of today or of 1940s Europe, which was a direct influence on much of what Orwell wrote.
 
Big brother was watching you but in the book it did more than watching you, it totally and completely interfered with the lives of the people in the book. It controlled their lives totally, free choice was a figment of their imagination, PRISM might mine your data but it does not control you or the free choices you are able to make. That is the big difference between the book and the reality that we find ourselves in.
 
HonestJoe said:
Did anyone notice the difference? ;)

It's a good novel independently of any politics hung off it. I think it's sad that a good book has been overwhelmed by it's use as symbology. I'd even suggest the modern use of the terms "Big Brother" and "Orwellian" are often at least as reflective of some of the themes of the novel as the things they're used against.

The idea that Orwell intend 1984 as a prediction of the future is simplistic at best though and calling it prophetic laughable. While you might be able to identify similarities with some of the equipment involved in the novel and in our society today, the politics which was the core of the novel is much more complex and diverse than a direct comparison could encompass, be it of today or of 1940s Europe, which was a direct influence on much of what Orwell wrote.
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I'd suggest that you go to Google Scholar and type "Orwell prophetic" in the search bar. ;)
 
Gulliver's Travels has never been out of publication since it first was printed in the 1700's. 1984 has some catching up to do.
 
nota bene said:
Abandon hope. Sigh, not that anybody will recognize Dante either.
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The entire point of the quote: "he who controls the past controls the future, and he who controls the present controls the past" is that the average person doesn't recognize or understand such references.
 
Was a pretty good book, personally I liked Animal Farm more.
 
nota bene said:
I'd suggest that you go to Google Scholar and type "Orwell prophetic" in the search bar. ;)
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Getting hits in Google (even Google Scholar) doesn't mean a concept is valid. I know there is a fashion for seeing 1984 as a propetic vision of the future, an expectation of what 1984 could be like from 1948 but as I say, I find that simplistic at best.
 
HonestJoe said:
Getting hits in Google (even Google Scholar) doesn't mean a concept is valid. I know there is a fashion for seeing 1984 as a propetic vision of the future, an expectation of what 1984 could be like from 1948 but as I say, I find that simplistic at best.
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So you didn't check for yourself, eh? I'd call pubs from decades ago more than a little "fashion."
 
soccerboy22 said:
Was a pretty good book, personally I liked Animal Farm more.
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I read Animal Farm on my own in college. I don't know why it wasn't required in high school. It was a perfect metaphor for how this country has been going the past several decades.
 
nota bene said:
So you didn't check for yourself, eh? I'd call pubs from decades ago more than a little "fashion."
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I did, though I initially thought you were trying to direct me to something specific. It doesn't change my opinion that describing 1984 as a whole prophetic is simplistic. It was a dramatisation of something Orwell felt could happen, though his context was more contemporary than the 1984 title implies. There is certainly much to be read in to the political and social commentary behind the story, but that is worthy of more than throw-away terminology and the opportunistic politicing it's typically used for (as per the OP article).
 
The one main image from 1984 that I remember is the daily exercises on the televisions every morning. And Winston found this little spot in his apartment where he could hide from Big Brother and NOT do the mandatory exercises.
 
And to the 2 people who said they haven't read it and won't read it -- why not? What do you have against knowledge?
 
Josie said:
I read Animal Farm on my own in college. I don't know why it wasn't required in high school. It was a perfect metaphor for how this country has been going the past several decades.
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I read it on my own. Given your job, would you say that Animal Farm is a good Orwell primer for students?
 
chromium said:
Yeah, I can see why that would spur interest...Forced to read it in 10th grade. In fact, the *only* high school book that was worth reading. Hopefully they aren't reading it and going "I want to join the NSA now!!"
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C'mon now. If we're being honest, I think we'd all much rather be standing with the men behind the guns than those in front of them when the inevitable crackdown comes. ;)
 
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nota bene said:
I read it on my own. Given your job, would you say that Animal Farm is a good Orwell primer for students?
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In middle school, probably. It's a very easy book to read, but if you don't have years of historical background knowledge leading up to middle school, the kids won't get it.
 
Peter King said:
Big brother was watching you but in the book it did more than watching you, it totally and completely interfered with the lives of the people in the book. It controlled their lives totally, free choice was a figment of their imagination, PRISM might mine your data but it does not control you or the free choices you are able to make. That is the big difference between the book and the reality that we find ourselves in.
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Yep. We're not even close to living in a world like 1984 describes.

The 1984 society is not what our governments in the West today do with modern technology. It's basically what Hitler and Stalin would have done, had they had access to today's technology.
 
Josie said:
In middle school, probably. It's a very easy book to read, but if you don't have years of historical background knowledge leading up to middle school, the kids won't get it.
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Color me dubious about that. So maybe high school. LOL, maybe honors English.
 
nota bene said:
Color me dubious about that. So maybe high school. LOL, maybe honors English.
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I read it in high school and I didn't really get it then. Or could have been I didn't really care as I had other things that seemed much more important on my mind back then. Bringing it up though I'd love to re-read it now.
 
The thing to remember about Orwell is that he wrote good sci fi. Good sci fi is not really a prediction about the future, it's a reflection of the present.
 
The only other novel by Orwell I read is "Keep the Aspidistra Flying". It's a story about a journalist/poet who despises consumerism and money, attempts to rebel against it but fails. I don't remember the details, just that I found it very entertaining.
 
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