1984 by George Orwell
Set in a not so distant future, a nightmarish dystopian world has emerged from the tyranny of a brutal police state. Everyone’s every move is under constant surveillance, and are subject to dictatorial propaganda on a daily basis. In a world where War is Peace, protagonist Winston Smith struggles with living as a writer in an oppressed state of the world. Winston works for the Records Department in the Ministry of Truth, where he literally re-writes history–the way he is told to. Winston must struggle to deal with what he sees happening all around him everyday – war, murder, censorship, corruption and oppression.
For him to escape he constantly writes in his diary, to remind himself of the truth – real truth, not propaganda as pushed on the people of the world by the institution of The Ministry of Truth. His dissenting thoughts in his diary must be kept secret, for The Thought Police would come and take him away for thoughtcrime. In the ministries that govern Oceania, there is no room for any type of dissenting opinion or thought; freethinking is a crime.
Winston meets a young woman named Julia, whom he falls madly in love with – despite the fact that she is a member of The Thought Police. Winston and Julia must keep their love a secret, for he is under surveillance for his thoughtcrimes, and if their relationship is found out, they could be sent to The Ministry Of Love, where they would suffer imprisonment without trial while being tortured and brainwashed.
Throughout the course of the book, Winston must struggle to find peace in a world of war and oppression. He is a freethinker in a world that no longer allows individuals to think for themselves. His love for Julia could bring that peace to both of them – or it could bring the exact opposite.
1984 is a frighteningly fantastic book, and I would highly recommend it to everyone to read – It is very appropriate for a public library audience. The writing is intense and keeps the readers attention at every moment. Orwell did a wonderful job creating up a powerful fictional language – Newspeak. Today many of the phrases and words he first used, are commonly used today when we speak of politics. For example, Big Brother, doublespeak, crimethink, and memory hole have all become very common phrases and words used in the news.
I think that Orwell does great job writing about the destruction of freedom, the rise of police state, censorship, dictatorial government power, and prolonged states of war. The book actually portrays the opposite of everything that Beyond War stands for. At first I felt that this book would not fit into the Beyond War Library Project because of its’ portrayal in which War is Peace, however I believe that by reading a fictional, yet eerily truthful book about the nature of a world dominated by force and oppression, we can see why it is essential for us to turn our world into a world without war.
Questions For Discussion:
1. Do you think that Orwell was making a prediction of the future when he wrote this book?
If so, do you think that he was trying to warn us that War is not the right path to take?
2. How is the modern day London similar to Oceania?
How is it different?
3. Do you think that the truth in mainstream media goes “down the memory hole”, or do you think that mainstream media gives a truthful portrayal of what is happening in the world?
4. Do you think that our world is moving towards a police state?
Are we already there?
5. Is it possible for just one person to change the world?
If you were that person, where would you start?
For him to escape he constantly writes in his diary, to remind himself of the truth – real truth, not propaganda as pushed on the people of the world by the institution of The Ministry of Truth. His dissenting thoughts in his diary must be kept secret, for The Thought Police would come and take him away for thoughtcrime. In the ministries that govern Oceania, there is no room for any type of dissenting opinion or thought; freethinking is a crime.
Winston meets a young woman named Julia, whom he falls madly in love with – despite the fact that she is a member of The Thought Police. Winston and Julia must keep their love a secret, for he is under surveillance for his thoughtcrimes, and if their relationship is found out, they could be sent to The Ministry Of Love, where they would suffer imprisonment without trial while being tortured and brainwashed.
Throughout the course of the book, Winston must struggle to find peace in a world of war and oppression. He is a freethinker in a world that no longer allows individuals to think for themselves. His love for Julia could bring that peace to both of them – or it could bring the exact opposite.
1984 is a frighteningly fantastic book, and I would highly recommend it to everyone to read – It is very appropriate for a public library audience. The writing is intense and keeps the readers attention at every moment. Orwell did a wonderful job creating up a powerful fictional language – Newspeak. Today many of the phrases and words he first used, are commonly used today when we speak of politics. For example, Big Brother, doublespeak, crimethink, and memory hole have all become very common phrases and words used in the news.
I think that Orwell does great job writing about the destruction of freedom, the rise of police state, censorship, dictatorial government power, and prolonged states of war. The book actually portrays the opposite of everything that Beyond War stands for. At first I felt that this book would not fit into the Beyond War Library Project because of its’ portrayal in which War is Peace, however I believe that by reading a fictional, yet eerily truthful book about the nature of a world dominated by force and oppression, we can see why it is essential for us to turn our world into a world without war.
Questions For Discussion:
1. Do you think that Orwell was making a prediction of the future when he wrote this book?
If so, do you think that he was trying to warn us that War is not the right path to take?
2. How is the modern day London similar to Oceania?
How is it different?
3. Do you think that the truth in mainstream media goes “down the memory hole”, or do you think that mainstream media gives a truthful portrayal of what is happening in the world?
4. Do you think that our world is moving towards a police state?
Are we already there?
5. Is it possible for just one person to change the world?
If you were that person, where would you start?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by David Scholten on -
Noah,
I think this book definitely fits with Beyond War principles. It a huge critique of modern society, government controlled media, and humans that no longer are afforded the opportunity to even think for themselves. I see some parallels in our society today. For example the way corporations influence the way we think about ourselves through incessant advertising.
What did you mean when you said "The book actually portrays the opposite of everything that Beyond War stands for." Isn't the protagnist's quest for freedom in an oppressive system in alliance with Beyond War's pricinples?
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