Sean Barrs 's Reviews > Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
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Just about everything Orwell says in 1984 is a maniacal truism. In some twisted form, everything reflects the truth of reality.
Of course there are exaggerations, though nothing is far from plausibility. We are controlled by our governments, and often in ways we are not consciously aware of. Advertisements, marketing campaigns and political events are all designed for us to elicit a certain response and think in a desired way.
1984 takes this to the extreme. Cultural brainwashing becomes the chief goal. Assimilation into a passionless (and completely ignorant) mind-set becomes the most effective means of keeping the population down. If you can make a man forget (or deny) his past then he knows of no situation better than his current state: it’s all he knows, so why would he act to change it? Subjugation becomes normality.
Big brother does this by harsh policing, excessive surveillance and language manipulation. The streets are claustrophobic and the people (the workers) can escape nothing. Every action, every word spoken, is recorded. The police are ready to grab anyone who steps remotely out of line. Controlling language is perhaps the most effective thought control method I’ve ever heard of. If language can be broken down into the absolute basics, the simplest and ordinary units, then people can only express themselves on a very minor level. They cannot think beyond their daily tasks because there are no words that connote dreams and fantasy.
Step out of line and you are killed, though not before being dragged to room 101 for torture and even stronger methods of thought control. As such through the plot the book depicts a stark transformation, a transformation of man who was once willing to fight and to think but falls into one of the ingenious traps big brother sets for him to expose his criminality. Orwell’s words are frightening because of their eerie parallels with reality. He shows us that we are not so far from big brother as we may think.
Unlike Animal Farm this also leaves much to the imagination. It’s a much more successful book and one that once it has been read, it certainly cannot be unread.
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![27788046](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1694286584p2/27788046.jpg)
“The best books... are those that tell you what you know already.”
Just about everything Orwell says in 1984 is a maniacal truism. In some twisted form, everything reflects the truth of reality.
Of course there are exaggerations, though nothing is far from plausibility. We are controlled by our governments, and often in ways we are not consciously aware of. Advertisements, marketing campaigns and political events are all designed for us to elicit a certain response and think in a desired way.
1984 takes this to the extreme. Cultural brainwashing becomes the chief goal. Assimilation into a passionless (and completely ignorant) mind-set becomes the most effective means of keeping the population down. If you can make a man forget (or deny) his past then he knows of no situation better than his current state: it’s all he knows, so why would he act to change it? Subjugation becomes normality.
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.”
Big brother does this by harsh policing, excessive surveillance and language manipulation. The streets are claustrophobic and the people (the workers) can escape nothing. Every action, every word spoken, is recorded. The police are ready to grab anyone who steps remotely out of line. Controlling language is perhaps the most effective thought control method I’ve ever heard of. If language can be broken down into the absolute basics, the simplest and ordinary units, then people can only express themselves on a very minor level. They cannot think beyond their daily tasks because there are no words that connote dreams and fantasy.
Step out of line and you are killed, though not before being dragged to room 101 for torture and even stronger methods of thought control. As such through the plot the book depicts a stark transformation, a transformation of man who was once willing to fight and to think but falls into one of the ingenious traps big brother sets for him to expose his criminality. Orwell’s words are frightening because of their eerie parallels with reality. He shows us that we are not so far from big brother as we may think.
“We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them.”
Unlike Animal Farm this also leaves much to the imagination. It’s a much more successful book and one that once it has been read, it certainly cannot be unread.
___________________________________
You can connect with me on social media via My Linktree.
__________________________________
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Reading Progress
June 9, 2018
–
Started Reading
June 9, 2018
– Shelved
June 22, 2018
– Shelved as:
4-star-reads
June 22, 2018
–
Finished Reading
April 24, 2021
– Shelved as:
sci-fi
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[deleted user]
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Jun 09, 2018 05:57PM
I actually like Animal Farm better, but I didn't really care for that book either...GASP!
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![Sean Barrs](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1694286584p1/27788046.jpg)
I never really liked thd sound of it, though i feel lile it's somethkng i HAVE to read.
![Kyra Leseberg (Roots & Reads)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1523718393p1/5899398.jpg)
![Margaret](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1207023483p1/991805.jpg)
![Nabhan Haque](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1655667405p1/92897228.jpg)
Are you saying that I have my own confirmation bias - that I am constantly affirming my own ideas and myself? ***Gasp***
Totally hit the nail on the head.
Great review by the way!
![Missy LeBlanc Ivey](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1714997983p1/128201297.jpg)
![Sean Barrs](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1694286584p1/27788046.jpg)
I've often found this with a lot of literary works, writers are engaging with and expressing fears before they become a reality. it's almost like precognition in some cases.
![Saba Gohar](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1622954834p1/70575888.jpg)
I remember I found escapism in sleeping after reading it and had a nightmare that I was under the watch — such is the intensity of this book!
![ShellTheBelle](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1399759491p1/15880350.jpg)
Wow I'm only a little way into the book so far and already, in Britain's 2021, I can see many of these things creeping in by the back door hidden under the guise of "covid19 restrictions" etc. I do wonder if Hollywood and literary books such as this have been trying to warn us (or condition us!) for years.
I now wonder if all my conspiracy theory friends were right all along . . . . .
![Sarai Adorno](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1702609866p1/55927166.jpg)
Has this book turned me into a conspiracy theorist? 😳😬😬
![Becky Cox](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1647390758p1/16411001.jpg)
Without admitting the Truth that there is one God Almighty and He is in control, society will continue to fall prey to every insidious lie they’re told. Romans 12:2 challenges us “not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so, that by testing we may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.“ Utopia versus Dystopia.