I find it very intimidating to review a well-known classic. I think since there is so much information on both the book and the author that I will just touch on a few of the concepts pervasive in the novel and, considering this is one of the daddies of dystopia, how the novel's presence has impacted literature as a whole.
Big Brother is the ever-present leader of the party, staring at the citizens of Oceania wherever they go with the aide of...more
See my full review posting here.

I find it very intimidating to review a well-known classic. I think since there is so much information on both the book and the author that I will just touch on a few of the concepts pervasive in the novel and, considering this is one of the daddies of dystopia, how the novel's presence has impacted literature as a whole.
Big Brother is the ever-present leader of the party, staring at the citizens of Oceania wherever they go with the aide of telescreens. Winston, an employee of the Ministry, isn't really sure if Big Brother actually exists or if he's really even an actual entity. The point Orwell is making here is that the party is always watching and has complete control over its citizens' bodies and minds. As party members go higher up in the ranks, vagueness ensues until one realizes that no one really knows who is ruling the country.
One of the most disturbing examples of the Party's mind control, and there are many, is illustrated in the description of Winston's job. His role within the party as propaganda officer is to alter official government publications in order for them to fit with the Party's official version of how events really went down. The Thought Police are constantly vigilant, searching out dissenters of the Party. They monitor citizens to the point where having a dissenting thought against the party is against the law and punishable.
Inevitably, Winston becomes one of these disillusioned dissenters,and he is arrested and tortured for it. During his interrogation, his captors explain to him that he will be re-integrated, or brainwashed, back into the Party.
The influence of Orwell's 1984 is indeed extensive; how many times have you heard someone describe something as "Orwellian"? Anthony Burgess wrote 1985, which was intended to be a sequel to Orwell's original work. In more recent work, Cory Doctorow's Little Brother directly references 1984's Big Brother, and Doctorow's main character, Marcus Yellow, is a direct reference to Winston Smith.
I recognize this book's extreme importance in the field of dystopian literature, and I found parts of it to be truly terrifying. However, parts of the novel, especially the segment in which Winston read entire chapters of the underground opposition party's manual, moved very slowly and were very dry. I'm glad I've read it but will probably not revisit it. ( )

The first time I read Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell I was 17. I read it for my history class as an example of a totalitarian state. This time I am reading it for a Socio-Linguistics class.

The main character in the book is Winston Smith. A 39 year old resident of London, Airstrip One, Oceania. This was once Great Britain but is now a totalitarian state made up of, in large, the English speaking world. Winston is a Outer Party member who works in an office job in the Ministry of Truth where he 'corrects' wrongs in printed material in line with the Party slogan "Who controls the past (...) controls the future: Who controls the present controls the past" (p37). Winston has dangerous thoughts of rebellion against the Party and its front figure, the mysterious Big Brother.

The book is a frightening look at what could possibly happen in a world where everything is rigidly controlled by one entity, Big Brother. Big Brother plays the citizens off each other and themselves. Citizens are constantly watched through the ever present and turned on telescreen, through which the party can monitor the individuals and feed them propaganda. In addition to this the citizens are encouraged to inform on each other. Children are members of youth groups where they are taught to spy on their parents and each other and report any instances of unorthodoxy, so called thoughtcrime. Another facet of this dystopian society is the discouragement of sexual relations for other puposes than reproduction. The citizens live in constant fear of doing something that will get the reported to the Thought Police and taken away to the Ministry of Love (which really deals with torture).

Winston shows an intellectual resistance to the ideas of Big Brother. Through his job he is exposed to the reality of the falsifying of information. He also has a memory of seeing proof that former members of the party could not have committed the crimes of which they were accused off. The books other important character is Julia, a young woman, whos rebellion against Big Brother is more physical. She has the apperance of the perfect Party member, but as Winston discovers, rebels in her own personal way. The books shows Winstons decent into full rebellion and what happens next.

I would highly recommend that everyone reads this book at least once. I would actually say that everyone should read it every few years because there are so many layers to the book and as new things are learned and new events take place you see new things in the book. ( )

1984 depicts a dark world run by tyranny. I read it when I was thirteen, and it started my interest in politics.

It really shows the "perfection" of the totalitarian government. There was no escape from it by the time it had fully asserted its authority.

George Orwell really wrote a masterpiece of dystopian fiction, and I'd recommend it to anyone. ( )

You often hear 1984's lasting terms in today's society. Big Brother, a television show I've never watched but still an idea hatched from this book is one good example. Then there is The Satellite of Love, off of MST3K, a Satellite that has nothing to do with love but with scientific torture--a direct nod to the book's fictitious government buildings.
A flag of the Ingsoc party as shown in and mov...Image via Wikipedia

There are countless others, and to focus on the terms used in today's buzz worthy society would be exhausting: Thought Police, Double Speak, New Speak, etc. Not only does this book create an appropriate paranoid view of those in power, it's simply good. This book is a masterpiece, no matter the message. The sentence structure of Orwell and his ability to use transparent, fluid language is astounding. It's almost distressing to read such work. How can one ever attain this magnitude of a story?

Conspirators use this book often as a curb to excess government involvement in the public's life. It would be hard to say what Orwell thought about each group groping for quotes for their own advancement, but I think he said it best in the book, when he coupled socialism with its ugly cousin, fascism. I don't think Orwell was denouncing all socialism, but simply stating that it was a vehicle in which many could be abused.
Minor spoiler ahead--one paragraph long:

In reading 1984, I hoped that the story of Winston Smith would end well. I really did. But in hindsight, that would have lacerated the entire idea of the story's message, its warning. Orwell couldn't let us off with a rosy ending because he knew that this world he had created on page, Ingsoc, had no rosy ending. It's quite difficult seeing the character break down like he does, but it sheds the light on any romantic idea of resisting torture.
The abuses of power almost seem comical at times. However they never leave the realm of possibility--it's not a parody of what can come but a frightful prediction.
Favorite lines:
"Socialism assumes that economic status is permanent."
"The thing in room 101 is the most terrible thing in the world." ( )

Hello! My name is '1984'. You probably remember me from that drunken political argument that you had at your friend's party last week-end. You know, when the discussion turned to the current election and the guy with the Converse All-Stars and messenger bag lamented how "Orwellian" the current administration is, and everyone nodded their heads because this guy seemed so astute, while you just stood there and thought to yourself, "Orwellian? That's all you can come up with?! Have you even read a book since you spent $3.95 on the '1984' Cliffs Notes for Mrs. Cliche's sophomore English class?"Yeah...that's me. But, I swear, I'm not just a hackneyed metaphor, I'm actually a really good read. ( )