1984

Author: George Orwell

ISBN: 9871785996313

Hi Everyone

Since being made to study the Classics and analyze them down to the last sentence, I have developed an enjoyment for the richness of their writings. George Orwell's - 1984, has been on my bookcase for over a year now so I thought it was time to read it. I was avoiding reading this during the pandemic because political views ran rampant and I didn't want my enjoyment of reading a novel to become a look into the government's ways of handling a situation like the pandemic, which our generation has not had to handle before. 

Although 1984 could be read as a politically based book, I found myself seeing it like many young adult books on the market. One that comes to mind is 'Divergent', there was even a movie that followed the book. I read 'Divergent' and went to the movie. Both novels grounded themselves on the ability of a higher structure to control the foundations of their society. Like 'Divergent', 1984 had me locked into the character's life. There was one part in 1984 that I closed my eyes because I could see the happenings too vividly in my mind.  This is an example of excellent 'show don't tell' writing which puts this novel into the masterpiece of literature category.  No wonder it has become a classic.

I made the mistake of looking up reviews on Youtube only to find myself adding 'A Brave New World' to my reading list.  There are debates all over the internet, debating these two books and which one... whatever the debate. How could I not add another book to my reading list? Hence, I have spent the last week listening to an audio reading of 'Brave New World' - I will put up a review for that one soon. It was in listening to 'Brave New World' while '1984' was still fresh in my mind that I found myself reflecting on 'Divergent'. These books together could make many fantastic essay questions.

I would encourage anyone reading these books to read them for enjoyment, not to find political arguments to serve one-self's reasonings. To read a great novel is to find enjoyment and/or self-reflection. I for one have enjoyed all the dimensions that '1984, Divergent, and Brave New World' bring to our world of reading.

Description:

Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past. 

Arguably the 20th-century's most famous novel, 1984 is a dystopian study of political tyranny, mind control, paranoia and secret mass surveillance.

Set in Oceania, the ultimate totalitarian state, it describes a society tyrannized by a ruling party led by Big Brother. In the furtherance of eradicating all expressions of individuality, people' lives are constantly monitored. Telescreens are everywhere, helicopters hover around buildings, spying through windows, and the Thought Police are constantly on alert.

Despite the threat of severe punishment, Outer Party Member Winston Sith takes a break from his job rewriting history. At home, in the one corner of his apartment that is hidden from the telescreen, he sits down to write a diary.

The cultural impact of George Orwell's masterpiece continues to resonate to this day.

Who was George Orwell?

According to Benet's Readers Encyclopedia 4th ed:

(pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, 1903-1950) English novelist, essayist, and critic. An independent socialist in adult life, Orwell was born in India, where his father was in the civil service. He won a scholarship to Eton but was financially unable to go on to Oxford or Cambridge. Instead he spent five years with the Imperial Police in Burma (1922-27). Much of his early work was at least partly autobiographical.... Orwell was known as a superb prose stylist who took a lucid, documentary approach to fiction. His Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters (4 vols) appeared in 1968.

 

For my review on Divergent follow this link.  It dates back some time now but still gives you a little view of what I thought when I originally read it 😁   Divergent

Happy reading