1984
Published March 21, 2005
I actually finished reading this a good few weeks ago, but I've been putting off reviewing it because...well, it's kind of intimidating. OK, so it's "just another classic novel" like several I've already reviewed, without much difficulty. BUT, somehow, 1984 just seems to overshadow all those others. I suppose it's not just the book itself, but the reputation of it.
OK, let's start with the obvious. It's about communism! well, yeah, but there's a but...and here it is: taking onboard how clever 1984 is, I can't help but think that rather than just being clever, Mr. Orwell was a genius, and the idea of 1984 is not just to target communism*, but any kind of totalitarian regime. The book is general enough, that much of it could be applied, in theory, to any totalitarian government you could think of. 1984 makes the point, rather well, though without having to actually signpost it, that when we lose enough of our freedoms, we stop really living.
We just "exist", as empty husks. Throughout the book, it manages to crystallize a number of thoughts I know I've had in the past, but never quite managed to put shape to them. This in itself, to me, is a good indication of Orwell's talent. Some of the ideas presented in 1984 are radical yet simple (and will probably have you thinking "of course! that's so bloody obvious!"). Then there's Room 101. On its own, this is a pretty nasty method of breaking someone's spirit. But there's a little more to it.
SPOILER ALERT*
See, part way through the book, we are treated to the realization that the government's power in 1984 comes from their controlling of the "sexual instinct" of the members of the Party. That's what the book calls it, but you could call it the instinct to reproduce, one of the two most basic of human instincts. Even for all animals. Well, there's survival of the species, being a kind of mixture of these two, but anyway.
The other is never actually mentioned, but plays at least as big a role - that of self-survival. It is this second basic instinct that the Party controls again through their entire setup, but ultimately, through Room 101. The idea of Room 101 is to show dissenters that their instinct for self-survival is their strongest instinct. To show them that their loyalties are not unbreakable.
- 1984
- Published: March 21, 2005
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- Section: Books
- Filed Under: Books: Humor, Books: Philosophy, Books: Politics and Affairs, Books: SF
- Writer: Jon Downs
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thanks! i've also got to punch out a review of Brazil, the DVD of which I got recently. According to imdb.com, its working title was "1984 1/2" and the similarities are about as striking as the differences...but I'll save that for that review
I'll second that emotion. Thanks for the review. 1984 is absolutely brilliant. I'd add Farenheit 451 to the list of "negative utopia" books that are a must read. 1984, Brave New World, and Farenheit take the idea of a bleak future and spin it in three different and brilliant ways.
PS don't forget to add amazon links to your postings.
PPS, yeah Brazil if freakin' great too.
i did put in ASINs, the problem is, Amazon seems to use different ones between the US and UK versions of their site for almost every item. Seeing as by default i go to the UK one, I sometimes forget to change the .co.uk to .com before I go get the ASINs.
Also, the formatting appears to have screwed up. it was Ok earlier. It's done this on my other post from today as well
yes, has to be from US Amazon
Jon, also, I know it's the right thing in the UK, but please put a space between paragraphs and make shorter paragraphs - pages on the Internet appear very cluttered if they aren't broken up into small chunks. Thanks and keep up the great work!
Even you really want to understand 1984, you should read about Orwell and his experiences, and his views on totalitarianism stemming from what he saw in pre-war Europe, and the Spanish Civil War.
I have read tiny snatches of some of his experiences that contributed to his writing of 1984. By no means exhaustive, but I know of some people who've only read about his experience of communism and draw the assumption that 1984 is purely about communism. I do intend to read some proper stuff about his life at some point, my only problem is I have so little time and so much to read.
I will also try, EC, to split my reviews up more...it *is* a big problem I suffer from. Comes from writing - I mean typing - stuff as and when I think of it, and using Notepad as opposed to e.g. Word. And laziness. Heh.
Maybe I *am* cut out to be a writer for a newspaper...lol
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Jon
This is one of my favorite books and thank you for your review. This book along with Brave New World by Aldous Huxley are fantastic examples of authors with incredible foresight with regard to the possible future or futures of our society.
From the NEWSPEAK language which is remniscent of today's political correctness to the "major newspaper" company changing their listed facts to adapt to current and changing events, the book delivers terror on a slow and creeping climb. Let's not forget about Big Brother and the "technological" advances of the telescreen which allows the Government to peek in on its citizens at any time. Go through the entire novel and match many of the key points and items in the book with our world today and you'll spend weeks.
The movie for 1984 with Burt Lancaster was very good and sucessfully captured the dreaded and hopeless atmosphere of the book and I highly recommend it to everyone.