In 1984, Winston Smith lives in London...

[JuniperLea]

Just a little refresher course in prophecy...

In 1984, Winston Smith lives in London which is part of the country Oceania. The world is divided into three countries that include the entire globe: Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. Oceania, and both of the others, is a totalitarian society led by Big Brother, which censors everyone’s behavior, even their thoughts. Winston is disgusted with his oppressed life and secretly longs to join the fabled Brotherhood, a supposed group of underground rebels intent on overthrowing the government. Winston meets Julia and they secretly fall in love and have an affair, something which is considered a crime. One day, while walking home, Winston encounters O'Brien, an inner party member, who gives Winston his address. Winston had exchanged glances with O'Brien before and had dreams about him giving him the impression that O'Brien was a member of the Brotherhood. Since Julia hated the party as much as Winston did, they went to O'Brien’s house together where they were introduced into the Brotherhood. O'Brien is actually a faithful member of the Inner-Party and this is actually a trap for Winston, a trap that O'Brien has been cleverly setting for seven years. Winston and Julia are sent to the Ministry of Love which is a sort of rehabilitation center for criminals accused of thoughtcrime. There, Winston was separated from Julia, and tortured until his beliefs coincided with those of the Party. Winston denounces everything he believed him, even his love for Julia, and was released back into the public where he wastes his days at the Chestnut Tree drinking gin.



Orwell knew. This should be required reading for every American.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Yep. That, and Sinclair Lewis' "It Can't Happen Here"

A review, for those unfamiliar with the story:

To quote one of the characters early on: "Like h*ll it can't."

Windrip is the charismatic politician: a great showman, but not comfortable when people use big words. He's swept into office on a tide of revival tent enthusiasm and anti-intellectual popularism. He promises a pot of money for everyone, and (this is the 1930s, remember) promises to put in their place all the right minorities with the strong arm of his loyal followers. Of course people vote for riches for everyone - or at least, everyone who matters.

Then he's in. The loyal followers become a private army, answerable to no one. The nation is redrawn into a network of concentration camps, prisons, labor camps, and terrified citizenry. The bulk of the book documents the incredibly rapid decline into barbarity. Despite the crushing tyrrany, a resistance emerge, and among people who might not have looked very brave. Without giving any spoilers, the end is ambiguous but optimistic.

The first half of the book is pretty much guaranteed to give you that sinking feeling if you've read the news in (or about) the America of Pres. Bush II. The rise of fundamentalist Christians as a political force has a familiar sound to it. So does the the discussion of "... when the hick legislators in certain states ... set up shop as scientific experts and made the whole world laugh itself sick by forbidding the teaching of evolution."

I want this book to be irrelevant. I want people to look at it and ask "what is he talking about? who could believe even the first word of it?" I want its warning to be forgotten by people who no longer need to be warned. The fact is that this 70 year old book still as relevant, familiar, and as urgent as ever. This book still matters - or should.

[RaleighNCDUer]

4. Haven't read it in about 30 years, well before the Reagon Revolution.

But it has stuck with me ever since, seeing Saint Ronnie as the exactly the type described. Never would have believed that someone would come along 20 years later who fit it even better.

[CalebHayes]

2. We just read that in my sophomore honors class.

I was the only one in the class that had already read it.

[peacetalksforall]

3. Our enemies studied Mussolini, Genghis Khan , all the 'isms' and came

up with a reverend, PNAC, military, corporate, baron amalgam with a plan to take us to 1984 and further back. The gin part of the story fits well - beer, tv time, malls, bibles - same as gin. There are some who use their time for the children and educating themselves. Good, but most of it is all under delusions - we can vote, we can have certain protections, we can have government representatives, a governmental body and a courts that work for us.

It's time to thank everyone who is helping to save our country - the good judges, the good journaists, the good whistle-blowers, the good citizens who give a care about what is happening to us. Thanks.

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. Let's not forget what an important role TV had in it - the means

by which Big Brother could watch you.

Of course, TV is just there to promulgate the message, while we watch each other.

[orwell]

6. To Room 101 with You Citizen

Your chocolate rations have been permanently revoked.

I demand that this post be sent down the memory hole at once.

And remember, Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia...

[JuniperLea]

8. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Not the chocolate!!!

:cry:

[stop the bleeding]

7. read it in highschool and it changed my life, now I am a 30something

and I am living this.

unfucking believable

[JuniperLea]

10. Me too

When I read Animal Farm, it totally made sense and I was the first in my literature class to "get it". I remember thinking that 1984 was pretty far-fetched. Little did I know...

[tabasco]

9. Hello Juniperx.

[JuniperLea]

12. AAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!

:hide:

[Cleita]

11. It was required reading when I was in high school.

What changed?

[AspenRose]

13. I would add "The Handmaid's Tale" to the reading list too.

That was required reading for me in college.

But don't check it out at your local library! Who knows WHO may be watching you? :hide:

[wuushew]

14. The world of 1984 would have eventually collapsed

from resource depletion. Locked in a perpetual state state of war and dedicated to the control and suffocation of ideas, such a civilization devoid of progress would have eventually succumbed to one form of natural disaster or another. Did they have any science? Any medicine? The only professions were war and faux journalism/mind control.


Orwell ends the novel on such as depressing note that in no way hints at the frailty of such tyranny. It is up to the reader to manufacture their own comfort from the work. Much much more depressing than Brave New World.

[Selatius]

16. Perpetual war was meant to deplete the people's resources

When people are forced to fight for scraps for survival, they become easier to control than a populace that is well fed with enough leisure time to think about things. The point is to keep the people from thinking and keep them concentrated on simply surviving. That way, people don't formulate ideas that might threaten the existing order. It's a form of social engineering.

[wuushew]

17. Right but the whole world was not toasted in WW III

Did that conflict spread to South America, Africa or Australia? The three totalitarian governments in the novel seemed rather static.

If just one "free" society was able to progress technologically eventually the dominance of the three totalitarian powers would be thrown out of wack.

We seemed to out pace the Russians in military technology in the cold war despite them spending 12-15% of their GDP on weapons. There is no right or wrong to this observation only that the depression described in the novel in my opinion would not be perpetual owing to uncontrollable changes in the environment of the world.

[Selatius]

19. If I remember, Africa had become a battleground

That takes out one of them right there. I can only guess Australia had fallen under the control of East Asia, and South America was frozen in orbit around Oceania like a Soviet satellite state in Eastern Europe.

[Poiuyt]

15. We should send that book to George W Stalin

OK, maybe the Cliff Notes version. Or Classics Illustrated.

[kiki]

18. Some hairs to split:

Haven't read it in a while, but I don't think there's anything in the book to suggest the Eastasia and Eurasia have an Oceania-style government.

In fact, if you think about it, there's no real reason to believe these two countries even exist, at least in the form in which they're presented to the people of Airstrip One.

[JuniperLea]

20. Great discussion here, peeps!

I'm betting you won't find deep thoughts such as these in freeperville:)

[BrklynLiberal]

21. kick