My Third Book of 2016 |
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Genre
Fiction, Negative Utopian, Dystopian
Setting Place
London, England or
‘Airstrip One’ in the novel’s alternate reality
Setting Time
1984
Main Characters
Winston Smith (Good
Guy), Big Brother and The Party (Bad Guy/s)
Point of View
Winston Smith
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Although I had already read the book when I was a high school student, I still read it again for the purpose of refreshing my mind of the details. I remember now that it was rather a bleak experience reading the book. It was so negative that I had to encourage myself repetitively to go on reading and finish the book. At one point, I almost decided not to finish the book.
Don’t get me wrong! It’s not that book is bad… actually it is one of the great novels I admired so much. It has that effect that you imagine yourself into the situation of the characters (Winston/Julia and the oppressed people) and you start having that negative emotions. It was so depressing that made me thankful that I am living in a free world. That’s how powerful Orwell writing in this Book… the reader becomes attached to the story and stimulates one to react emotionally as well as intellectually.
It is interesting to note that this Book was written in 1948, and Orwell provided a grimy description of a dystopian society of the future i.e., 1984. But I think Orwell was trying to paint what would happen sometime in the future, not necessarily 1984. He portrayed a landscape for totalitarianism, for the psychological reprogramming, for the manipulation of public opinion, history and even the truth, and for the physical torture. It was suggested that the title was derived from reversing the date, 1948, though there's no documentary evidence for this.
Accordingly until today, it’s the only Book that issued a warning against totalitarianism, censorship, dystopian, and communism. It tackles not only political issues but other issues as well. It rather made me rethink about some of the following concerns:
Terms introduced in the book (I am still wondering how Orwell coined these terms!)
Big Brother the Party’s seemingly omniscient leader; perhaps the TV show of the same title was somewhat patterned after the Book.
Newspeak an invented language that eliminates words not favored by the Party. For example, to prevent rebellion against “Big Brother”, all words related to it are deleted and never to be seen again.
Thought Police the surveillance system that watches actions of the people as the possibility of thinking bad against the Party and Big Brother. The “thought crime” is considered as the worst of all crimes.
Doublethink the ability to hold two contradictory ideas in one’s mind at the same time. As the Party’s mind-control techniques break down an individual’s capacity for independent thought, it becomes possible for that individual to believe anything that the Party tells them, even while possessing information that runs counter to what they are being told.
Unperson the punishment of death, simultaneously erasing the existence of a person as if he/she didn’t exist at all. It is worst than dying.
Memory Hole a mechanism for the alteration or disappearance of inconvenient or embarrassing documents, photographs, transcript, or other records, particularly as part of attempt to give the impression that something never happened.
Some Memorable Quotations
Don’t get me wrong! It’s not that book is bad… actually it is one of the great novels I admired so much. It has that effect that you imagine yourself into the situation of the characters (Winston/Julia and the oppressed people) and you start having that negative emotions. It was so depressing that made me thankful that I am living in a free world. That’s how powerful Orwell writing in this Book… the reader becomes attached to the story and stimulates one to react emotionally as well as intellectually.
It is interesting to note that this Book was written in 1948, and Orwell provided a grimy description of a dystopian society of the future i.e., 1984. But I think Orwell was trying to paint what would happen sometime in the future, not necessarily 1984. He portrayed a landscape for totalitarianism, for the psychological reprogramming, for the manipulation of public opinion, history and even the truth, and for the physical torture. It was suggested that the title was derived from reversing the date, 1948, though there's no documentary evidence for this.
Accordingly until today, it’s the only Book that issued a warning against totalitarianism, censorship, dystopian, and communism. It tackles not only political issues but other issues as well. It rather made me rethink about some of the following concerns:
- The concept of society; generating some uncertainties on whether I am really living in a world that exists physically or just a product of my imagination!
- The nature of truth; repetitive lies may eventually become the truth! Winston works include altering of historical records to fit the Party’s need.
- The borderline between public safety and personal privacy; the use of technology for surveillance system for the good of the general population or for the invasion of individual’s privacy/freedom/rights!
- The torturing or punishment schemes; changing human perspectives as well as principles!
Terms introduced in the book (I am still wondering how Orwell coined these terms!)
Big Brother the Party’s seemingly omniscient leader; perhaps the TV show of the same title was somewhat patterned after the Book.
Newspeak an invented language that eliminates words not favored by the Party. For example, to prevent rebellion against “Big Brother”, all words related to it are deleted and never to be seen again.
Thought Police the surveillance system that watches actions of the people as the possibility of thinking bad against the Party and Big Brother. The “thought crime” is considered as the worst of all crimes.
Doublethink the ability to hold two contradictory ideas in one’s mind at the same time. As the Party’s mind-control techniques break down an individual’s capacity for independent thought, it becomes possible for that individual to believe anything that the Party tells them, even while possessing information that runs counter to what they are being told.
Unperson the punishment of death, simultaneously erasing the existence of a person as if he/she didn’t exist at all. It is worst than dying.
Memory Hole a mechanism for the alteration or disappearance of inconvenient or embarrassing documents, photographs, transcript, or other records, particularly as part of attempt to give the impression that something never happened.
Some Memorable Quotations
WAR is PEACE
FREEDOM is SLAVERY
IGNORANCE is STRENGTH
In the end the Party would announce that two and
two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they
should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded
it. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external
reality was tacitly denied by their philosophy.
And when memory failed and written records were falsified—when that happened, the claim of the Party to have improved the conditions of human life had got to be accepted, because there did not exist, and never again could exist, any standard against which it could be tested.
And when memory failed and written records were falsified—when that happened, the claim of the Party to have improved the conditions of human life had got to be accepted, because there did not exist, and never again could exist, any standard against which it could be tested.
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