Book Recommendation: 1984

Started by Teylar Ta Palulukankelku, October 12, 2012, 04:53:26 AM

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Teylar Ta Palulukankelku

Last fall i read the literary classic dystopian Sci-Fi novel 1984. I read it in Swedish. Now, i don't remember 100 % of the plot and all of my reactions to the book, seeing how much time has passed since i read it, but i'll give it a try:

I thought it was pretty good. Not my absolute favorite type of Sci-Fi story and there isn't much action, but i know that's the point and i appreciate that. What i enjoyed most about the book was the depiction of the protagonist, Winston Smith, as an ordinary ``average Joe´´ and the book's extensive analysis of various political and psychological aspects that were very topical at the time George Orwell wrote the book (1948). Plus, i find many of the subjects dealt with in the book interesting.

And seeing as how analytic this book is of various political and psychological subjects, you're free to discuss them here if you'd like.
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Aytanin Marali

Oh holy Eywa I hate that book!  Not because it was bad, it was brilliant, but because I still have nightmares about it.  I read it in 2006 and had nightmares for a week.  I blame David Bowie.  See, he has an album out based on the book called Diamond Dogs.  I bought the album, loved it, and decided I should read the book.  Scariest thing I have ever read, including those creepy horror story books I read in elementary school.  Can't remember the title, something like Are You Afraid of the Dark or something.  My sister's fiance has one.  I remember the terrifying art work and the scary stories.  Most were fake, but it was really the art work that got you.  So creepy you could hardly read the opposite page because you couldn't stand having that picture in your peripheral vision.  But 1984 was even scarier.  I will never read it again.  In fact, I haven't even listened to Diamond Dogs since I read it.  I'm afraid of the CD now!   ;D  Good book, but too scary for me!
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Teylar Ta Palulukankelku

Woah  :o! The last word i would've expected someone to use to describe 1984 was ``scary´´  :-\. Care to elaborate on that  ????
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moonbeam

"1984" is the saddest book I've ever read.


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Teylar Ta Palulukankelku

It's the same for me, ma tsmukan. Which doesn't really say much since i've only read three books from start to finish in the last three and a half years  :P.
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Yayo

I enjoyed the book overall but could not for the life of me sit through the entire (and extremely long) excerpt from the protagonist's diary... I had to skip it.


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Teylar Ta Palulukankelku

Hmm, i remember there was an excerpt from Winston's diary now that you mention it but i'd almost forgot it entirely  :-\. I remember that at one point, where he wrote about a propaganda film he'd seen in the local cinema, he became so sloppy with he writing due to some kind of hysteria when recalling the event that he forgot to separate sentences and use spaces between the words and thus the text started to look something like this ``iwassooverwhelmedbythebrutalityofthesoldiersdepictedinthemovieialmostfeltlikeleavingbutididn'tduetothefactthatitwouldseemsuspicious´´ or something similar HRH  ;D.
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Aytanin Marali

Seriously?  That book was terrifying!  Can you imagine living in that world?!  Scares the bejeebies outta me!  Being brainwashed by the government like that.  *shudders*  How is that book anything if not scary?  I have nightmares about being trapped there knowing it's all a lie.  It's horrible!
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Teylar Ta Palulukankelku

Like i said before; I personally wouldn't describe the book as ``scary´´ but, yes; I, too, detest the thought of the government of a country brainwashing and abusing their citizens in such a way. Personally, i would rather describe the book as ``depressing´´ due to the story's bleak nature (It is a dystopian novel, after all.). But, hey; That's just me  ;D.
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Emtokay

What's this book like in comparison to  'Brave New World'? I like the dystopian themed stories (although hunger games books were terrible imho)
If Nothing In This World Can Change Our Children Will Inherit Nothing


Teylar Ta Palulukankelku

#10
I haven't read Brave New World so i can't say  :-\. All i know about Brave New World is that a key element in it's story is that the general population is brainwashed and severely retarded.
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Emtokay

I've read brave new world, that book has a fee references in Demolition Man
If Nothing In This World Can Change Our Children Will Inherit Nothing


Teylar Ta Palulukankelku

``Demolition Man´´  ???? Is that a film, perhaps  ???? I vaguely recognize it.
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Elektrolurch

1984 is an absolute must-have in everyone's library, it should be taught to 14-year-old pupils. Oh, and, by the way. Just look around. We've already ended in a world like that! Except for the telescreens, yet everybody knows about the tendency to total observation.

Brave New World is also a very interesting chapter in the history of literature, but it's not that close to reality. The concept is completely different and primarily describing the problem of our new generation of party-people.
Volt, Watt, Ampere, Ohm, ohne mich gibt's keinen Strom!

ExLibrisMortis

War is Peace
Ignorance is Strength
Freedom is Slavery

Clarke

Quote from: Viritxian on April 02, 2013, 02:58:28 PM
1984 is an absolute must-have in everyone's library, it should be taught to 14-year-old pupils.
I had to write an essay on it in high school when I was around that age.  :P

And I'd agree with other people that it is a very haunting book, especially the ending.

Teylar Ta Palulukankelku

Quote from: ExLibrisMortis on April 02, 2013, 06:30:18 PM
War is Peace
Ignorance is Strength
Freedom is Slavery

Double-think in it's purest form. It's also very interesting to see how George Orwell has influence the entire English language with his large set of self-made words and expressions made specifically for this book, up to the point where these phrases and other things related to George Orwell has gotten it's own adjective; Orwellian.
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Teylar Ta Palulukankelku

Quote from: Clarke on April 03, 2013, 01:12:37 PM
And I'd agree with other people that it is a very haunting book, especially the ending.

Yeah, it was very sad to see that after all that that resistance to Big Brother and the Party, Winston couldn't stand the torture and broke and gave in to the brainwashing  :(. There is, however, some comfort to be had regarding the ending IMO; Winston hears on the news that the stalemate of the perpetual war has been broken, giving way to the eventual possibility of the Party losing their power, although it probably won't happen in time to prevent Winston's execution by order of the Party to make an example out of him.

Ulte mllte ngahu, ma Viritxian: What with SOPA, PIPA and all that other Internet surveillance crap, the Western world is drawing ever closer to Orwell's horrifying scenario, although i don't think it can go that far, what with most of the Western countries' very democratic societies with information regarding our governments that's easily accessible to the general public (Although i won't deny the fact that cover-ups and secret scheming sometimes occur in democratic societies, too.).
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Blue Elf

Today I was in library, wanted to borrow this book. They have quite enough copies, but all of them are spread among the people.
Looks like very popular book, I definitely will read it.
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Clarke

Quote from: Teylar Ta Palulukankelku on April 03, 2013, 02:06:59 PM
Quote from: ExLibrisMortis on April 02, 2013, 06:30:18 PM
War is Peace
Ignorance is Strength
Freedom is Slavery

Double-think in it's purest form. It's also very interesting to see how George Orwell has influence the entire English language with his large set of self-made words and expressions made specifically for this book, up to the point where these phrases and other things related to George Orwell has gotten it's own adjective; Orwellian.
IMO, "ignorance is strength" (and possibly "freedom is slavery") isn't so much doublethink as a case where the meanings of words get vague around the edges. Think about an only very slightly different phrasing: ignorance is resolve.

It's true, isn't it?  ;)