dystoptian totalitarian state
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this man had a pretty clear view of the way the world worked in 1948 it is one of the most important books in my life. many have been influenced by this view of a future world. if you use the internet you should read this book first.
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Perhaps when I'm older...
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Having read this book to write a GSCE essay, I suuppose I was forced to enjoy it, although I didn't. This book is view of a terrifying totalitarian future, that maybe I'll understand in a couple of years.
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A Masterpiece
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Orwell was one of the greatest English writers ever, and 1984 is his masterwork - one of the most affecting and absorbing works of fiction you can read. Orwell's characters are complex and beautifully crafted; it is impossible to detach yourself from their plight, such is the depth of 1984's emotive charge. I truly cared about Winston, making the ending the most devestating and vital one i have ever read. Orwell has a narrative, authorative voice and his mastery of clarity is equalled only by Camus. This book can utterly redefine your political, philosophical and social values as Orwell creates a distopia which is believable as it is terrifying. This is not just totalitarian satire; it is not just science-fiction: it means everything. 1984 is one of only a few 20th century texts that you honestly MUST read.
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I understand how, but why?
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Orwell's satire will not be to everyones taste, but his skill lies in the ability to make characters so unreal- that they are real. An environment so twisted, that it is frightening when one comes to understand it. Orwell's writing is so philosophically complete that it will leave you with no questions, only a dull sense of crushed hope.
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Interesting- that's it
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Nineteen Eighty-Four is one of those novels for which content is inconsistent with reputation. Like Orwells other 'masterpiece' Animal Farm, what this novel basically amounts to is a rather lengthy, rather dry account of a political state which in this case, while certain modern parallels are obvious, often simply fails to ring true (for instance, London seems to be the arbitrary centre of the western world - why not New York? Paris?) Orwells almost painful attempts at portraying the emotional life of his characters can be cloying (and often sexist where women are concerned), and he too seems to have the various strands of philosophy/metaphysics rather wound around his neck. Having said that, it can be quite atmospheric and the themes of repression and thought control will always be interesting.
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