Book ending!:(

[#1TexasFan27]

The book 1984, by George Orwell is a terrific book. Easily one of the best books i have read so far in this year. On many occasions Orwell would "ring the bell" as some may call it. At this day and age he has come very close to some of the things that he has depicted in the novel. It may not have been exactly the same as the actual year of 1984, but as time is progressing it is becoming more and more accurate. I believe the more time goes on then the more accurate he will become because looking at the generations that are coming up they seem to "fit the bill" if you will.:party:

[Coeusful]

Could you perhaps give an example, or develop your argument? I read the novel a few months ago, and I suppose it might hit the mark on certain current affairs, given enough leeway for interpretation. But a totalitarian society in which even your thoughts are monitored, and finding individuality is a hopeless struggle? It's a stretch.

[cacian]

Aw I wish I could agree. I find politics is for chewing and not for eating and drinking.

Althougth I wonder why would one would chose 1984 and not 1983 or 1985?
Such an exact date and for an unexact untrue story.
It makes one think unless one is saying this is a memoir but it is not it is a novel.

[Scheherazade]

Did you read the book, Cacian?

[cacian]

Did you read the book, Cacian?

Yes in French a few years back now.
I could not get into it fully as I kept thinking was 1984. Such an exact date.
I think it distracted me too much because I knew the book was written before that and so there was nothing I could find in the story that explained such an accurate date.

[Charles Darnay]

The book was originally called "The Last Man of Europe" but the publishers did not like it. There are speculations on why exactly he set (and titled) the book 1984: the most prevalent being that he wrote it in 1948 and switched the last two digits to set his book up as a mirror to his own world. However, there were books before 1984 that set up a futuristic world in 1984, so he may have drawn on these.

As for the book being full of untruths, i think you need to reread it.

[Charles Darnay]

The book 1984, by George Orwell is a terrific book. Easily one of the best books i have read so far in this year. On many occasions Orwell would "ring the bell" as some may call it. At this day and age he has come very close to some of the things that he has depicted in the novel. It may not have been exactly the same as the actual year of 1984, but as time is progressing it is becoming more and more accurate. I believe the more time goes on then the more accurate he will become because looking at the generations that are coming up they seem to "fit the bill" if you will.:party:

There is a bit of a manifest destiny happening right now, particularly in the US and UK. Those opposed to certain conservative measures being put in place such as strict censorship and increased surveillance, are intentionally turning to Orwell's work in order to demonstrate the "evil" that is taking place. Most of the time it is a bit of a stretch in order to rally the people to fight the power. If we wake up to find our world a mirror of Orwell's, it is not because of some prophetic design, but because people have adopted 1948 as a means to portray their governments.

[hillwalker]

There are so many facets of Orwell's 'world' that have taken over our lives - though not perhaps in exactly the way he predicted:
such as 'Big Brother' watching over us (cctv cameras/Google Earth camera vans/in-store loyalty rewards/on-line cookies),
the 'thought' police (political correctness/media brainwashing/the moral majority)
and the Paranoid State we now inhabit (Homeland Security/body scanning at airports/identity theft)
that one wonders what he would have made of the 21st century had he been able to come back.

As for getting 'hung up' on a novel because the title refers to a specific year (in a possible future - depending when you read it) - it seems strange that such a distraction can spoil anyone's enjoyment of the book.

H