What Students think about 1984.

[1n50mn14]

NOT about the novel, but why are there so many responses from people that fit the following criteria:

a)High school student
b)Joined in November 09
c)have 4 posts...

It's a little strange.
And they write like they're writing a topic statement.
Weird.

[neilgee]

How strange Becca. I just counted and there's nine different students on 4 posts and three on 5 posts all just posting once on this thread.

This set me pondering after I logged off last night so this morning I checked if there was a connection between the other posts the "students" had made and sure enough all of them have only posted on other 1984 related threads.

Another thing: they all ignore any attempt to broaden the debate [like my mention of Zamyatin's novel] and sound similar enough in style to have been written by the same person!

[soccergirl6]

Looking over the previous comments, mine is not one that many of you will want to read. But as a high school student, I didn't like the book 1984. I thought Orwell went into detail on many aspects too deeply, especially in the beginning. I understand that good writers use good detail, but I feel that Orwell overdid it. Although I'm not a fan, I like how Orwell predicted surveillance everywhere. He was an intelligent man for knowing and expressing that the past and present equals the future. He showed that whoever controlled the present, controlled the past and the future. His ideals for this book were extremely impressive, but I didn't like the ending at all. He was told that he was going to be shot after he accepted and loved Big Brother, but they left free to be an alcoholic. We discussed this in my English class, and my teacher said that although he was set free, he would later be vaporized. I don't understand why they are going to do that. I thought the ending was completely stupid and boring. It was a struggle to stay awake while reading it. Either Winston should have been killed or served some sort of purpose, because continuing his life left no example for anyone else that was against Big Brother. His life was basically useless after, whereas before he at least helped Big Brother. Which his job at the Ministry of Truth was completely ironic, because he was against everything Big Brother stood for. Also, I didn't like how we never end up knowing what happened to Julia. Was she left to be vaporized too? Again, Orwell should have had both of them killed, possibly even in front of each other, to prove that you shall love no one other than Big Brother. As I said before, I give Orwell a lot of credit for his underlying message in this book, but I do not like the ending or the immense detail. And honestly, I wouldn't recommend 1984 to high school students. Most of them don't even read it, and the ones that do, don't really care.


p.s. You might see this posted under some other thread, I had some technical difficulties.

[walter women]

I thought that the first 50 pages (give or take a few) were very slow. It slowly picked up after that and I found myself starting to really enjoy this book at the end.

My favorite part about the book was room 101. Not only did it give the book a good twist, but it also made the reader start feeling about their worst fear. For me, it's snakes, and hearing about Winston's fears kept me intent into the book.

I also agree with many things the Orwell brought up. I feel that if we do not understand the past then we are going to repeat it. This book is completely needed for highschool students to read. 1984 shows what will happen if we let government run the people. The people are supposed to run government and since highschool students are the future people of America, students like me need to read 1984.

[swimmer444d]

i know i will be criticized for saying this but i don't think 1984 is a "must read" book like every one is saying it is. yes, it did open my eyes a little to what is going on in our world and what the consequences might be, but in the aspect of entertainment i found it extremely lacking. i just kept waiting and waiting for something entertaining to happen but it just never came. this book probably should be read by young people, but i would never recommend it to anyone for any recreational reading. i suppose this book was written more to get a point across than to be entertaining but i think orwell could have made it a lot better. id only give it a 4/10

[Geesta]

1984: Thumbs up, Thumbs down?
-You decide.

I thought that Orwell's 1984 was a very, um, different book. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about the book, but then I got into it more, and I realized many things; I realized how small my problems are, how small I am compared to everything else, how little I matter. But I this book wasn't just something that depressed me, even though it did most of the time, I did learn that there is hope in the world, no matter what problem you have, there IS an answer, a solution to your problem.

This book taught me many lessons, and I think that anyone who is looking to further their education, or just needs help answering some questions, that they should HAVE to read this book.

I give it a thumbs up, but go ahead, read it, then you decide.

[themelodyofrain]

Thumbs up to 1984! This book is such an eye opener and it should be read by not only high school stundents but people every where. It relates to the world as though they were twins. I wonder myself if people every where were to read this book if we would all learn from it and create a better world! Kudos George Orwell!

Oops! I forgot to add this to my last post :O Though I liked the book I agree with the others that the book was very slow and there were so many details the book laged on and on. But still the lesson stood out the most overall and that is why people should read this.

[Pepperonimask23]

I found the book 1984 to be a very well written novel. I do give this book a thumbs up because of the actual relations from what Orwell predicted to how the world is today. There may not be the same methods and same names for the methods but they do exist today. I found the book to drag on in the beginning but as it progressed it seemed to be more percise and more ableing to read. Overall I had a great understanding of the book and I definately believe all high school students should have a percise understanding of this book.

[Blasphemy]

I'd have to agree with Swimmer444d. In my opinion it isn't all that exciting of a book. Then again this is just my opinion. I would still recommend this to kids across the nation. It is fairly important to realize how close this book is to our lives today. We are always being watched wherever we go. Video cameras at the gas station, supermarket, school, etc. I would understand why a teacher would want their students to have a complete understanding of this book before they graduate. It opens our eyes to what can happen if we the people let things slip out of our hands. Just look back in the past and at this book. Knowledge without history is worthless.

[jbee94]

I do think that 1984 has some interesting points throughout it. The beginning of it however i felt was extremely boring to read and almost made me lose interest in finishing it. I did however finish it and the book made me think a lot about our society today. Also, I stop and wonder what would happen if I was in Winston's shoes and what i would do in various situations. I personally was not a huge fan of this book but this could be because it isn't the type of literature I'm usually interested in. Hopefully students in years to come will take more interest in 1984 than I did.

[Skwurll]

I think this book is very relevant to today's society. Just the surveillance under which the citizens of Oceania are bears a slight but definite resemblance to the Bush Administration's wiretapping policy. I would recommend this book to anyone who believes a totalitarian state could never happen in a modern day country, although I don't think the situation in the book to be entirely plausible, let it stand as a worst case scenario.

Also, I thought it was a very interesting read, except for the chapter on "The Book", that got a little dry.

[m4nboston4e]

The book 1984 certainly deserves to be recommended to both adults and students. It has many underlying messages: Watch the government, ask questions, and especially don't forget history. Students should read this book so that they are aware of both how fortunate they are to live under the government they do and also how unfortunate they could be.

Though many of Orwell's warnings weren't yet relavent in the year 1984, they are slowly becoming mirrors of different parts of the world, like North Korea. It is important to learn about 1984 in conjunction with real life applications so that students know actual exhibits of Orwell's messages.

The book 1984 should certainly be recommended for students and adults alike. Its messages are many and include: watch your government, ask questions, and especially don't forget history. This book teaches us that we are quite possibly on a road to a totalitarian eternity. Though Orwell's warnings weren't yet relevant in 1984, they are slowly becoming mirrors of our present, in places like North Korea. The book should be taught in conjunction with real life exhibits of Orwell's warnings so that students can see actual examples of his teachings. It is important for us to see what could be so that we can appreciate the government we have and avoid the one described in 1984.

[Austispomonti]

I thought 1984 was overall a well written book and is important to read. It's important to read about Orwell's thoughts and see what he got right about the future and what things he didn't get so right. Such as telescreens, Orwell was right in the fact of a much more observed future. If you look in a large city today, you find cameras everywhere. Also i agree on how the government is controlling, maybe not to the extent in 1984, but the the government has a way to only let you hear what they want you to hear.
I indeed recommend this book to any student and adult/young adult who should see Orwell's thoughts. The book should make them do the very thing we do on these forums, question and discuss.

[Travis_R]

While 1984 isn't the worst book I've ever read, I certainly didn't enjoy it as much as I had other dystopian novels such as Brave New World and A Clockwork Orange.

I think Orwell's problem stems from the lack of originality in his writing as well as his frequent use of the comma. When I say lack of originality, I mean not his themes, motifs or ideas for these truly were visionary, but that his prose and punctuation were not up to par with the other author's I've read.

I also don't like the fact that the "bad guys" of this novel do not receive any bit of poetic justice and the world simply remains the hateful, dirty place it was at the start of the novel. Orwell presents the problem but neglects to come up with an answer.

But if there's beauty to be found within this novel, it's within the memorable, well written lines. "You're only a rebel from the waist downwards." is very smart and clever, and the final paragraph is very well written. Overall, like I said above, I thought 1984 was an entertaining read with a theme before it's time.

[gymclasshero123]

This book was interesting and makes you question a lot about the future and people's individual rights. I believe George Orwell is an expert in descriptive witting and keying in on your senses. However at times I thought too much into the meaning behind what Orwell was explaining. I think high school students should be required to read this piece of literature but for me this was not a "cup of tea" kind of book but caught my interest more towards the end. My overall thought is that Orwell is correct in most things he predicted but since 1984 is already in the past I lost interest before I started reading.