1984

[Jorrit]

Well...

I just read the book 1984 by Orwell..
and I was wondering what you guys think of the book???

Personally I thought it was quite a nice book in general... except for some parts that where a little bit too long fetched... (it became more or less boring. Like at the end where there was an explination of the newspeak principle and how it all worked; something else that was quite boring was PART III about the torturing... according to me that was a little bit too long)

But what I did found very nice about the book was the idea that Orwell gave about having more or less "total communism"... the 'thoughtcrime' principle or the fact that they where in war with Eurasia at one time and than with Eastasia, and nobody seemed to care because they where all that much indoctrinated... or too afraid to say anything.

So I found it very interesting too read altough personally I don't think anything like that will ever happen because a revolution would come... it's just impossible to have that kind of dictatorship around WHOLE the world.

You can also read in the book that 85% of the whole population where proles... and they didn't do anything to overrun the party of BIG BROTHER... that's quite unrealistic...

[Lote-Tree]

So I found it very interesting too read altough personally I don't think anything like that will ever happen because a revolution would come... it's just impossible to have that kind of dictatorship around WHOLE the world.


Erm...it has long come and gone. It was the former Soviet Union.

[Jorrit]

Erm...it has long come and gone. It was the former Soviet Union.

NOOO!!!!
ofcourse not :P
russia wasn't that extreme... the sovjet union
you didn't have "thoughtcrime" etc.
you had a dictatorship, that meant:
-1 ruler
-torture was common there
-even some people disappeared by the secret police

But that's like in every dictorship... when you looked at Saddam in Iraque... countries in Africa, etc. etc.


but none of it was that extreme like in the book of George Orwell 1984

and George Orwell wrote Animal Farm as a comparison to the Sovjet Union not 1984

[Lote-Tree]

NOOO!!!!
ofcourse not :P
russia wasn't that extreme... the sovjet union
you didn't have "thoughtcrime"


LOL :-) Course they did - those who spoke their thoughts against the system were sent to the Gulags!




but none of it was that extreme like in the book of George Orwell 1984


It was fiction - it has to be extreme to highlight the point!



and George Orwell wrote Animal Farm as a comparison to the Sovjet Union not 1984

Of course.

[Coco]

1984 has NOT come and gone!!!!

INGSOC is alive and well in America today! Consider our Outer Party: Congress. They are watched constantly. Facts seem to change a lot, don't they? We get all caught up in useless investigations of why officials were fired or whom the president has been "entertaining" in his Oval Office. There is a war going on "over there" against some terrorists whom we fear.

We are the proles. We get all excited about the lottery (and fantasy sports, and "reality" tv shows, none of which means a thing). No one cares about us.

Wanna talk about doublethink? It's all over the news.

In the novel, war is peace because it uses up the products of the machine without raising the standard of living. Sounds like education in America: billions are poured into whatever new teaching fad comes along, and none of it changes education materially. If schools could have that money to decrease class sizes, a lot could get done, but no--spend all the money on a useless program so that schools can't get any better. Sound familiar now?

Another target of Orwell's novel is the Catholic church. It's full of doublethink. If a couple divorces, they can have the marriage annulled--that means the bond never existed. And yet, the children are considered legitimate. Doublethink: John and Suzie were never married, but they have three legitimate children. This is a harmless example, of course; God loves everyone regardless of the circumstances of their birth. But doublethink is everywhere.

[cardplay]

We are the proles. Big Brother is watching, even if it isn't so blatantly as from a TV screen. If you follow all the news reports on FBI spying on Americans, you'd realize your'e wiretapped and your library records scanned and all the like.

Why?

We are in a WAR. And the WAR will never be won... it takes place between Eurasia and Oceania... a Jewish-looking (Arab) villian is everywhere... but they never catch him...

[bazarov]

George Orwell wrote Animal Farm as a comparison to the Sovjet Union not 1984

Actually, is Russian revolution and not a Soviet Union.

[bazarov]

... a Jewish-looking (Arab) villian is everywhere... but they never catch him...

The same thing could some poor lady say in Kabul, Ho Chi Minh or Faluja...Those Americans are everywhere...They just can't leave you alone!

[Xellos]

The revolution would never and could never happen.
The proles, while they are 85% of the population, are not given access to all the necessities of life, so they are busy trying to get what they need for survival. Plus, with things like Hate Week and the Two Minutes Hate, their anger is directed towards other things, and their love to Big Brother. They are constantly fed propaganda, so they are constantly being misinformed on what is going on, so they always feel like the government is good towards them. And with the city constantly being bombarded, the proles have to look out for their own lives before they can even think of rebelling.
Then there is the outer party. The outer party is constantly being watched, and any sign of thoughtcrime is reported. Any gathering of party member would be notice, and action would be taken. Even Winston being as careful as he possibly could be is caught for thoughcrime. It's impossible to tell if someone is a member of the thought police, like Mr. Charrington and O'Brien, so you can't trust anyone, not even your own children who are taught to turn anyone they suspect in.
Then there is the Inner Party. People are part of the Inner Party for a reason, and while O'Brien appeared to be hoping for a rebellion, he was really just getting to Winston.
So no rebellion could take place. The Party is forever.

[deludeddiana]

Truth be told, I believe a more undected 1984 is happening. I agree with Xellos, because it's the truth. Orwell was just telling us it is happening. We realize that but we can't focus our energy into rebelling. We can't do this because we are in the same situation as the proles, undereducated and deseparate for what we need and crave.

Another thing comes into play if you haven't seen it yet.We need this somewhat relaxed version of 1984 inorder to function in America. Without all the lies,the changing of facts, and the government that controls everything, our world would be in choas! Or a very different America would be formed. This has been going on for years, since the start of the world. It seems a crazy and foolish thought yet it is the truth. The world has been based on this government. We know no other way of life and therefore no other way of life can be formed. Yes, there are such things as dreams, but all dreams revolve around this one idea! The idea that Big Brother controls our daily lives, the Inner Party is always being seen and watched, and the proles have what they need day to day.