1984 is a novel about a dystopian society bent on controlling its population by preventing “thoughtcrime.” To achieve this end, people are constantly monitored by either telescreens (a kind of television capable of transmitting both ways) or by other individuals including friends, co-workers, even members of the family. The individual is left completely alone and incapable of forming resistance. By this method the goal of keeping power indefinitely is achieved.
The novel follows a middle aged man by the name of Winston Smith who has done the unthinkable, committed thoughtcrime. In a society where not even your own children can be trusted, Winston is forced to hide his inner feelings for even a facial twitch could be detected by the Thought Police. Winston works for the Ministry of Truth, a committee whose sole purpose is to create propaganda for the masses. Any historical fact which negates the omniscience of the party is erased and in this way, history itself is erased. The party is always right, even when it’s wrong. No one is capable of proving the lies that the party produces as all proof has been erased.
The totalitarian society which Orwell created could be paralleled to the USSR under Stalin. “Big Brother”, a figure which the individual is meant to not only obey, but love (a fact which Winston learns too late), bears resemblance to Stalin. His scapegoat, Goldstein, a leader of the former opposition, resembles Trotsky. However, the novel is meant to encompass the effects of any totalitarian regime.
This book changes the way you view the government, the media, censorship and society in general. It’s definitely one of my favourites.
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How to read 1984
It made me
scared
 "Reading this book has made me more aware of how easy it is to scare people into doing things against all common sense only to save their own guts."
How I did it: I picked up an old, used copy of a paperback volume and started reading. It was difficult at times to remember that the real world is not quite as bad as in the book, but one page at a time I read my way through it and when the last page was read I was once again back in the current safety of the real world. Lessons & tips: Pay attention to what you read, because the world we currently live in is not at all that far away from the world of 1984. It is important that we all know that the world of 1984 cannot be if the people act against it - as much as the ruling powers took away talkative individuals they would not have been able to take away the entire population.
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More "How I Did It" stories
How I did it: well, i had always heard that 1984 was a good book, but i didnt even know what it was about. i found a copy of 1984 at my local goodwill, and decided to buy it along with my other books and things. it took me about 3 weeks to read it, simply because i dont have much time to read, so it was mostly after classes that id read. anyway, it an absolutely astonishing book. part one was boring but a neccessary explanation, part two as my favorite… Read how I did it…
Lcee09 dogs are consuming my thoughts!
How I did it: My senior English class read 1984 as a class. I had heard that it was intense and was looking forward to reading it, especially after reading (but not quite understanding) Animal Farm in middle school. Read how I did it…
hollyiswhere loves opportunity.
How I did it: One page at a time. Written in 1948, this vision of the future is shocking realistic. It's one of the three modern novels everyone should read, including Fahrenheit 451 and Animal Farm. Read how I did it…
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I’ve already read half of it and have to finish and write a report on it for September. I guess I should actually find the book so I can read it!
mrcreed He who desires, but acts not, breeds pestilence.
im about 100 pages in so far…interesting to see what happens next
Anwyn trainning to be a teacher
i really enjoyed reading this book and would definatly advised people to read it.
StrawberryFields1991 is in the Yellow Submarine
Possibly my favourite book ever.
Didn’t enjoy either :)
But you don’t know what all the fuss is about if you don’t.
I finally did it. It is so awesome. I even had multiple nightmares after I read it. You can’t beat that!!!
Anwyn trainning to be a teacher
i now own a copy of the book just need to find time to read it…..
