Wednesday, December 11

Book Review: 1984 by George Orwell

Author: George Orwell
Title: 1984
Genre: Classic, Science Fiction, Dystopia
Pages: 328
First Published: 1949
Where I Got It: Borrowed from library

"Written in 1948, 1984 was George Orwell's chilling prophecy about the future. And while the year 1984 has come and gone, Orwell's narrative is timelier than ever. 1984 presents a startling and haunting vision of the world, so powerful that it is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the power of this novel, its hold on the imaginations of multiple generations of readers, or the resiliency of its admonitions. A legacy that seems only to grow with the passage of time."


This would be my second time reading this book. The first time I've read this was in High School for my Senior's English class. It's been a little while since I've read this, but with all the references in my Contemporary class this semester, I've decided to revisit this book.

Just....wow....I forgot how dark and depressing this book is. However, you can't help but put keep reading. It's like a car accident...you just can't but look with wide eyes. Ah hahaha. The cover seems to be appropriate.

This may be dark and depressing and there seems to be hope, but good ol' Georgie Orwell rips it away from you. However, you are left with the reminiscent of the hope. *SPOILER ALERT* Winston and Julia do fall in love and decide to rebel against Big Brother...both are no-nos. At first there seems to be that hope for these characters and for this world. Love seems to be the key. However, at the end Winston and Julia are captured by the minions of Big Brother and they betray each other and turn to love Big Brother. There seems to be no hope and I don't see it, but one can debate that Julia and Winston created a ripple and maybe someday they will relight the flame of rebellion against Big Brother. A load of crap, but its nice to think that such a dark book has a tiny, tiny flame of hope. *SPOILER END* Alas, I don't personally see the hope in the text, but after the text. Perhaps this will wake up those who read it and not allow their government to be like this. The hope lies in the awakening and knowledge given to the reader. HAHA. My professor would be proud of me. Too bad we didn't read this in class.

Sorry....in class we've been talking a lot about hope and darkness and etc. So...it's stuck in my head. XD

Anyways....I was very upset with the ending. I really hated all that went down and it made me mad that George Orwell took away the hope that I was having. I knew what was going to happen, but still...I hoped for a different ending. HOWEVER, I understand WHY he ended it the way he did. It's very symbolic and meaningful. Which brings me to the next point.

This was a very meaningful and genius book. Pure genius and I can see this lasting the sands of times and kids in future English classes having to read this. Every kid SHOULD read this book especially when learning about the time period in which it was written. Waaaaaaaaaay better then 'Animal Farm' (hated that book with every fiber of my being) to getting the point across. 

Well, that's all I have to say without giving away anymore major spoilers....

This was just as dark and depressing as it had been the last time I've read this. I understood the meaning and symbolic-standing behind this the first time, but with time comes wisdom. I have taken many literature classes and I've read many more books and learned more about history, so this just really stuck with me more this time. I really should watch the movie (there is a movie right? Or am I mistaking). I would recommend this to those that like classics and those that want a good adventure that will make them wide-eyed and make them think about the world. In the end, I shall stamp this book with 3 stars. One star more then what I gave it last time. ^.^

 Favorite Character(s): Winston (at the beginning), Julia (at the beginning), and O'Brien (made my skin crawl, but he was a gentlemen. Just read and see what I mean).
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Everyone else....especially BIG BROTHER (even though you never see him)

  



3 comments:

Blodeuedd said...

I tried to listen to the audio version but it was all weird adn broken

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Carole Rae said...

Reading it is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better