Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be one of the only people that knows that there is something wrong in your society? Have you ever felt that way? Well over the past few weeks I have been reading the book 1984 by George Orwell and you may be able to relate to this book. 1984 is about a man named Winston Smith who is living in approximately the year 1984. The society in which he lives is ruled by a dictator named Big Brother who has a type of FBI called the thought police that have screens, called telescreens, that watch you 24/7.
Throughout the first few chapters Winston begins to realize how Big Brother and the Party (that’s what they call the people that work around Big Brother) distort facts from the past to manipulate the people of Oceania, but Winston knows these made up facts are not true. He vaguely remembers occurrences from his past that contradict certain aspects of Big Brother’s message.
1984 was actually, believe it or not, not written in 1984. It was originally published in 1949. Therefore the world that Winston lives in is only 35 years after the book was originally published. So if we think about it in George Orwell’s point of view, the future he is inventing is not too far away, so we can imagine it, but far away enough so we can make things up like telescreens that watch people 24/7.
The term Big Brother is still used to this day. It is often used to mean someone who is always watching you. This shows the significance of 1984 and how ideas from the book have stuck in our culture even though the majority of people do not know where they originate.
In the past, I have also read Animal Farm, another book by George Orwell, which is similar to 1984 because they are both revolutionary and dystopian novels. Animal Farm depicts a society of animals that take over the farm they live on from a human who uses them for his own personal gain and treats them poorly. This compares to 1984 because they both involve a dictator and a rebellion. In the case of Animal Farm the rebellion is a physical rebellion while in 1984 the rebellion is mental and all in Winston’s head.
This mental rebellion does not end well. Winston lives in a society that is manipulated by the Party and Big Brother and no one realizes it except for him. Eventually he gets captured by the thought police and submits to the brainwashing power of the Party. He starts the interrogation by insisting that 2+2=4, but in the end he is convinced by the thought police that 2+2=5.
This mental rebellion does not end well. Winston lives in a society that is manipulated by the Party and Big Brother and no one realizes it except for him. Eventually he gets captured by the thought police and submits to the brainwashing power of the Party. He starts the interrogation by insisting that 2+2=4, but in the end he is convinced by the thought police that 2+2=5.
Wow, this book looks to be an exciting thriller book. I am espically intrigued by the idea that even though this is a futuristic book, it still takes place far in the past. It makes you think what can happen in our future
ReplyDeleteThis book seems to be very interesting and I also liked your style of writing this blog post. The plot caught my attention, as it seems interesting if you think about it in today's perspective. As a reader, something I find amusing is that George Orwell may have thought that theworld would be like this in 1984, but its 2019 and the situation in the book is nothing close to how's its like today...
ReplyDeleteI think you have done a fantastic job on this blog post!
Nice job, Noah. While the actual analysis of the novel and description and sounds very interesting, what actually caught my interest was the great comparison you made between 1984 and Animal Farm. You compare how the rebellions differ and how they are similar. This ties in to the novel very well and can offer a different way of viewing the book. Seems like a good book.
ReplyDeleteGood job on this blog post. I liked how you tied in other books you've read by this author into the book, and how you went into how influential it really is to the real world. However, I think next time you should talk more about what makes the book unique or something you found interesting about it on top of everything else you talked about to make a really good blog. But overall, great job!
ReplyDeleteI like how you related this novel to ones you had read in the past, like Animal Farm, and contrasted the physical rebellion in Animal Farm to the mental rebellion in 1984. Your mentioning of the significance of the term "Big Brother" really show how important this book and its messages are. Good job!
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