Oh shit! Oh shit! Just starting reading 1984.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

Oh SHIT!

:banghead:

Stop being so damned prophetic, Eric!

:cry::cry::cry:

[PVnRT]

1. Eric? His name has always been George Orwell

*watches this joke fly over the heads of thousands*

[WritingIsMyReligion]

2. Hahahahahaha.....

:rofl:

Eric Arthur Blair, of course. ;)

[sakabatou]

4. I still don't get it.

Wait, nevermind. Thank you wikipedia.

[Oeditpus Rex]

3. Assimilate, un-person

Resistance is futile.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

7. That's way doubleplusungood.

Dog, the Newspeak alone gives me a heart attack!

:scared:

:D

[mduffy31]

25. What helps with that

Is when I read it there was a glossary in the back that explained all of the newspeak. Helped me understand some of it when it got real heavy.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

14. Please do not conflate Orwell with Star Trek: The Next Generation sir!

[LynneSin]

5. Read "Animal Farm" next

You can just visualize who some of those animals are. I'm still not sure if Squealer is Karl Rove or Rush Limbaugh; although knowing what Squealer's purpose was (to teach the sheep the new message to chant), I'm guessing it's Rush Limbaugh

[WritingIsMyReligion]

8. I've already read FARM.

You read that in 9th grade, and 1984 in 11th grade. (I'm a sophomore in junior English). Yeah, I was freaking out at that, too. Squealer was way scary.

[trackfan]

11. You're way ahead of my pace - I read 1984 last year...

I was in the 11th grade in 1975.

[av8rdave]

12. Me too...same age

I had to reread 1984 recently, as it had been a long time

[spacelady]

21. I had read Animal Farm 5 times by age 12. It just fascinated me.

Although I didn't "get it" until I was in high school. Because I wasn't aware of the political references to Marx & all. Kinda ruined it for me. I just thought it was about human nature.

[RedCloud]

6. Two fingers or three?

Why not just give me the gun and maybe I'll shoot Big brother, er, I mean, myself...

[WritingIsMyReligion]

9. I'm only through part one, section five.

Geesh!

:P :P

(Although I do know exactly what happens--thank you, Wikipedia and Sparknotes. :D)

[Call Me Wesley]

10. Read his "Homage to Catalonia" too. (nt)

[Arkham House]

13. WIMR--if you're serious about being a writer--

--get hold somehow of the four-volume edition of Orwell's letters, essays and journalism. This is *required reading* for any would-be writer. Read it, and see what English prose should be...

[PVnRT]

16. One of those is available free online

(if not all of them)

The one where he bemoans how language is used to obfuscate instead of people using it to be clear. I can't recall the name of it now.

[ghostsofgiants]

18. Here you go...

http://www.orwell.ru/library/index_en

Not sure if that's EVERYTHING, but there's quite a bit there.

[NJ Democrats]

15. Yeah, I read it last year

Eric Blair aka George Orwell was a genius in that regard. Animal Farm, too.

[barb162]

17. that's a great book

[Kat45]

19. I read it for the first time a few years ago.

And the whole time I was reading it, I couldn't help but think of the bush administration. Scary, indeed!

[spacelady]

20. Oh No You Di' nt! A cleansing is in order for your mind.

You were not supposed to read that, much less tie it in to today!
Burn IT!

[Mojambo]

22. Your thread title kinda makes me giggle.

It just reads funny.

[khashka]

23. It can fuck you up

but it's a great book.

Mostly for Orwell's use of language and how he shows that words can be used to control and manipulate people.

Still all politics aside, the betrayal at the end is heartbreaking.

Spoilers coming.....




When they torture him and are going to let rats eat his face and he begs them to do it the only woman he's truly loved instead, it makes you sick.


Most of us have read it and use words and phrases from it: the two minute hate, sexcrime, thoughtcrime, or my fave, doubleplusungood.


Khash.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

26. I know...that's so awful.

I already went ahead and read that part, although I knew what was coming anyway. (Wikipedia and Sparknotes :D) It's really fucked-up and evil.

Last four words are the worst, though.


He loved Big Brother.

[khashka]

27. If you can get hold of this.....

The BBC did a version in black and white that is very faithful. 50s or 60s. And I don't know if it's on video or DVD, but if you can get a copy, please do.


Khash.

[grasswire]

24. remember this

Orwell was an optimist.

[Left Is Write]

28. I read it for the first time IN 1984, and it was plenty scary then.