As a teacher and 1984 fan, I'm interested in your take on the novel and its relevence in a modern day high school classroom.
As a teacher and 1984 fan, I'm interested in your take on the novel and its relevence in a modern day high school classroom.
Well, I'm no student, and I doubt you'll get many who answer the question. Most of the students here are "hit & run" posters who come in to discuss an aspect then leave, never to return.Originally Posted by Teacher
Orwell is still relevant on many fronts, but chief among them, I'd say:
Pure English. Orwell was one the most accurate users of the language from the past 100 years. His style and usage is still a great example of writing without waste.
The premise of 1984. This is pretty self-explanatory, with surveillance cameras being installed worldwide, the internet and companies which are tracking our usage right now and that totalitarian states still exist.
The message that power corrupts.
As a high school student, I feel as though the book should be throughly understood by all high school students. Orwell's novel is thought to be a warning to the citizens that our future could turn into Oceania and its citizens. If we keep behaving like the way we do now, Oceania could be us. I would recommend this book to any high school and college student. I personally enjoyed this book, and the meaning is very well thought out once you grasp the concept of it. The theme of the book is extremely powerful in my opinion.
I am not a student either, but I love this book, and see it as still relevant.
The theme that is really important for me is the use of language to narrow the mind; deprive the people of language and you deprive them of the ability to frame their thoughts, and then to think them.
I think his noting of the way people think in cliches and can be brainwashed by soundbites (e.g. Parsons) to act against their own self-interest, but in the interests of the agenda pushed by the media and their owners should still be of interest to us.
I think that another aspect of the novel that is still relevant is the importance placed on material goods - in 1984 because the people were deliberately deprived of even the basics in order to break their spirits and channel their energies in getting them, and in Western society because we have a huge amount of goods, but are convinced by marketing and our own acqusitiveness and competitiveness to believe ourselves deprived if we can't have "must-have" luxuries.
Also agree with The Atheist that Orwell's clean, crisp style is wonderful, and I think he should be taught as a model of prose composition, as well as a writer of fiction.
I love the completeness of the world of 1984 - it is so convincingly drawn, from the Party's macro-economic policy to the tiniest detail, like the tobacco always falling out of the cigarettes; with every aspect of the Party's doctrine working with another to create the whole - the propaganda, the war, the sexual repression, the deprivation working together to creating fear, hatred, frustration, and despair, all feeding into one another and ensuring the absolute power of the Party.
Another aspect of the novel that I rarely see discussed is the love between Julia and Winston, although there was a couple of threads on it fairly recently, and the consensus seemed to be that Julia and Winston's relationship is just a kick against the Party's power. I see it as a lovely and fragile thing, as all love is, and find their companionship and slightly clumsy efforts to please one another highly moving. I believe that Orwell wished us to see that love is what makes life liveable, and the destruction, represented by Room 101, of this natural instinct and thereby the humanity of their victims, as the Party's greatest sin.
Last edited by mollie; 11-21-2009 at 07:59 AM. Reason: Typos
that's a great work, but a bit more serious
Being a high school student, i believe that students across the world should read this book. It is a real eye opener and helps you understand the world and what it could become. I think it shows people what to do to help and helps you realize the corruption of the past. I recommend this book!
I AM a Student (9th grader)
It was shockingly relevant...
I was checking my phone to see if I could hear something strange that might indicate that someone was listening before I dialed for weeks (read this when Bush was still in office). Wire taps---- internet surveillance, employers cyber-spying on job applicants, and government restrictions on the public's access to information on the internet, radio, etc. All these very current issues smell of totalitarianism! Torture in Gitmo, that is frightening too. References to Torture actually were the most sickening in my opinion. Big brother can read all my emails if he wants, but he's not going to learn any state secrets. I don't know, the book made me paranoid beyond belief after I read it (two years ago, after 'Brave New World'). I was just stunned by how much more frightening the world is in reality. Terror fills the internet, it fills the radio, it fills the television. No wonder people arm themselves with nukes and such. Power is corruption. I think it is appropriate to read in a Government class, but I didn't really find any "poetic" thrill in it. But, that's just my opinion. (I read it in 7th grade, so I am uncertain of where I would stand now).
"People and trees receded on either hand like the dark sides of a tunnel as I hurtled onto the still, bright point at the end of it, the pebble at the bottom of the well, the white sweet baby cradled in its mother's belly."- Sylvia Plath
As a highschool student, I believe that this book can symbolize many different things. I think that this book can be a warning to the people of our nation of what could happen if we as people didn't keep an eye on our government. Although some people stay out of politics, I think that it is important to vote and get involved in politics because it's when we don't keep an eye on our government, that they take over. I think that America is far from becoming like the goverment in 1984 because we have such open ideas and opinions. Overall, I think that this book was okay. It is not really my type, but certain parts of it did keep me interested. I would reccommend this book to readers who enjoy history.
I think 1984 is very important and all high schoolers should have an undertanding of what this novel means. It was very interesting and a definite eye opener to what the world is now and what it could become. I definetly recommened this book because it is very important to our past, present, and future.
I think in addition to the movie '1984' being discussed in relation to the book, students could watch the movie 'Equilibrium', which may be more exciting for them but which I think deals with many of the same themes. Bear in mind though, I haven't read the book for a while.
:As a high school student i thought that the book was okay.
Don't get me wrong because George Orwell is a great writer. He's is very discriptive but, there was a lot of writing in the book that i found to be boring and he could have left out a little of it.
I would have to say though that all high school kids should read this book. It is a great piece of literature.
Being a high school student I thought 1984 was a good take on a future that we neglect to preserve our own rights. George Orwell's writing is also superb for prompting you to think deeper into what he is saying. I also enjoyed how Orwell layered his warnings about the future, giving us things to an eye out for. I would have enjoy seeing more of what Orwell thought would happen to the arts, since he did show them still being used. However he did show the danger of how literature might disappear entirely which is a warning that hopefully will never come true. Over all I enjoyed the book and think it is a wonderful piece of literature to study.
In my opinion, 1984 was a must-read book. I highly recomend it to high school students. The novel warns readers of the future based on what has happened in history which is a very important concept for our society to understand. It is crucial theory because as Orwell displays in the novel, the higher class has the power to get what they want and leave the middle and especially the lower, to suffer. If we don't talk about history and it isn't recorded, it will happen again, which is the point that I think Orwell is trying to get across to us. Our society can't be brainwashed and blinded by what is going on with our government. Personally, I thought this novel was an real eye opener and it made me realize the importance of knowing what is going on in our society.
Well, you're getting lots of answers, in fact, which is great!
Interesting comments too, loving seeing kids reading it and learning something about the way the world works.
I honestly think every highschool student should read 1984. Orwell actually predicted a lot right, which I find frightening. Such as the telescreens...look around our society. We have cameras everywhere. In Manhattan alone, there are around 2400 cameras! He obviously did not get every little things right, but he wrote a real "eye-opener" as to what our society can turn into. In my honest opinion, I liked 1984. When I first opened it, I thought it was awful. Eventually, it started to pick up and i didn't want to put it down. 1984 is a MUST READ!
"Over the last 15 months, we've traveled to every corner of the United States. I've now been in 57 states? I think one left to go."
Barack Obama
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