What is your opinion of George Orwell's novel 1984?

Question

i think its great. it's got an interesting storyline and setting and it's hard to put down.

Answer 1

I absolutely loved it when I read it. I like dystopian fiction, particularly those that get my mental gears moving and where I can see contemporary parallels.

I can't possibly begin to count the number of times I see something on TV and am reminded of the "two mintues hate" (or was it ten? Been a while. - though we get a lot more than just two/ten minutes, don't we?). So much of what gets churned out by the media seems, to me, to only serve as a distraction so people don't focus on more important issues and end up rioting when they realize the shady things governments and corporations are doing.

And then there's also the whole "changing history" thing, but if I get started on that I'll be typing forever! So I'm just going to stop at this point.

Answer 2

What a coincidence. I recommended this old novel to someone yesterday. I was in a store, checking out, the sales guy asked for my phone number. He then proceeded to call be by my last name, and as me if my address was 123 YouKnowWho St.. Apparently, my family had visited this store previously, and they had our info in their computer system. I mumbled "wow, Big Brother's at work eh?" He didn't know what I was talking about. I proceeded to tell him about the book 1984. I told the young man (18-20ish) it was an older novel, written decades ago, but that everyone needed to read it.

I think it was a great work of fiction. Unfortunately, it's not so fictional anymore. I wonder if Orwell had any clue that some parts of his work of fiction would become reality.

Answer 3

I have to admit that although it was a star among dystopian novels, I never could quite get into it. I felt like it was written in a very factual, preachy kind of way and I didn't really get drawn into the story which is a pity because I know that Orwell is a master story teller (I'm just rereading Animal Farm and it's so easy to read while still delivering a great message!) Much better I thought was 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley - take a look, maybe you'll like it too :-)

Answer 4

When Gorge Orwell wrote 1984 he was actually commenting on 1948 as the reds under the bed was causing the Americans to panic as the Mc Carthy trials prove. He was trying to waken the population up to the fact the things could end up worse than the Nazis if it wasn`t stopped.

Answer 5

It's interesting, I will not dispute that point but I personally would not like to live in such a setting. I ask myself what if our dependence on computers leads us into creating a sort of Big Brother. the way computers are taking over,it would not be surprising. I admire the idea in the book,but no more. If u liked the story, try 'The Machine Stops' by E M Forster. It portrays the same idea but is more human in approach in that he emphasises emotions and relationships at the end of the story when the machine really stops.

Answer 6

I think Orwell had a very big clue that what he was writing was likely to come to pass. The success of the fascist states in the mid 1900`s was enough to frighten most liberal-minded thinkers (by liberal-minded I mean open-minded, don't want to scare the american neo-cons). A lot of recent developments echo many of the concepts of a controlling society presented in that book.

Answer 7

I think there are some very interesting ideas and concepts in the novel.
However I don't think that Orwell was a particularly talented writer from a technical point of view.

Answer 8

the element became into that it glorified dissent. It became into stating the flaw of a society that seeks to silence opinion of even a single person. Sorry, i'd somewhat stay able the place we hardly agree on something than a international the place a results of dissent must be bodily or psychologically torturing all people till they think of they post that they stay in Utopia. I have not have been given any challenge with attempting to stay in a extra helpful place and making it extra helpful for destiny generations, yet that end is extra helpful finished with the aid of compromising differing critiques no longer shutting them up with the aid of coercion.

Answer 9

i read it many years ago and never forgot it. it is a classic. now that you have read the book, try the movie starring John Hurt. It is not bad. "Brave New World" by Huxley is another you might enjoy. And another very short book by Orwell that you might enjoy is "Animal Farm." And don't leave out "A Clockwork Orange," also made into a movie. Important ideas addressed in all these regarding devoling societies that we must strive to avoid.

Answer 10

Orwell is far more interesting as a tortured sado-masochistic snob than as the plaster saint of social democracy.