Anyone read George Orwell's 1984?

[Kimi Sama]

I just finished reading it this afternoon.
I gotta say it definatly deserves it's reputation - the ideas presented by the book show how smart Orwell was, and are both incrediably insightful and scarily true to life.
My only two gripes with it are that...well its so boring alot of the time, espcialy the 20 or so pages which are lifted from The Book, and also that the ending is a bit of an anticlimax.

Who here has read it? What did you think?

[Blue]

I've read it, but it was so long ago I barely remember it...I do remember forcing myself to keep reading at points though.
I'd proabaly watch the movie if I wanted to recap, even though they're probaably completely different.

[w.P]

Yeah I've read it, long time ago though back in high school. I remember it dragged on but it is deserving of it's fame(The Simpsons even parodied it in one of their halloween eps).
He was way off on the supposed time period though, just like the Jetsons. I want my flying car and my house in the clouds now dammit!

[HornyHippo]

I thought the first half was ok, but the second was kind of boring. As far as dystopian novels go, I preferred Brave New World, which I also think is a lot more relevant to the problems society will face in the next 100 years or so. 1984 has probably been more important from a cultural point of view however, since it's caused people to become slightly more distrusting of government and surveillence, which is always a good thing. Wouldnt it have been naturalistic by Rand's classification of art, out of interest (or at least expressed a bad sense of life)?

I found newspeak to be the most interesting part of the book, since it was the first time I had encountered ideas like that.

The novel was about the russian revolution. I assume the farmer/pigs would have represented the Russian czars and the corrupt communist party rather than some idealized capitalist businessman.

[aslan]

I own that book and have watched the movie (both of which are the same story with no differance's that are too large)

it was IMO a good book I had it as a high school reading and finished it in like 2 day (but thats cause my way of thinking was into that type of story back then)

I still read it from time to time

[Nyarlathotep]

I've read the book once and I've seen the movie twice (both times in christmas).

I don't even remember the character's names, but I do remember that 1984 fanfiction sucks. A lot. Except for 2 which were decent and one that was humour.

[iroha haroto]

i didn't think the ending was anti-climactic, i felt that it was a terrifying ending, like the ending of Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange".

i liked it, muchly. It is one of my favorite books.

[sharingan7]

ah i had to read it for school but i didn´t read it ,in fact i never actually read a book through high school hahahahahahahaha i don´t like books ^_^

[Ark 12.0]

I read it last year, it truely is a great book and it shows some of Orwell's anarchic tendencis.

[The Space Cowboy]

I liked Animal Farm and Brave New World better, but yeah, 1984 is good.

[falconmain]

the end was meant to be anticlimatic. the ending was trying to show that even with all he knew in the end he beleived in "brother" to make his existance normal again. even though he knew there was no such thing. People will twist whatever they have to to survive. So in a sense the end was the most climatic part since it said that even if you knew all this is going on *coughkindalikenow* you will simply beleive what you have to if you want to survive. that is a very scary thought, at least to me.

[Takeru!]

The story seemed well done, but because of that I was bored through good portions of it. Not a book I'd exactly be all excited to read again, but I'm not really a book person.

[princesstaco]

I liked that book.

I agree, I found The Book boring, but I thought the ending was pretty good. Well, good meaning i thought it suited the story. The ending really upset me for some reason... Guess I just don't like it when the good guys loose.

[BtifulDisastr]

I think I cried when I finished reading it... but I know I buzzed through it in two or three days because I really enjoyed it... it was very well written.

I saw the movie in a Political Science class... well I saw like 40 minutes of it... and it made me want to go get the book and read it... so I did. :)

[Jin]

I readed it, it was ok.

[nkiseki]

I actually read it for class but I thought it was pretty good. It's a very pessimistic sort of utopia and I adored the way that Orwell presented that last few paragraphs. But it was hard to get through during some parts of the book.

Personally, as someone mentioned, Brave New World would be a better book if you want to read something to keep your interest more.

[OrphanBoy]

considering the fact that the book was published in 1949, almost 4 decades before the story takes place, the book is prophetic to an unparalleled degree. even though orwell may have gotten some of his ideas from the communist revolution around the world at the time, the concept of "big brother" is definitely something we all should be aware today. the book challenges the reader to discover the importance of human rights and the strength of the human psyche through a series of rather graphic events. one online review of the novel puts it,

"If, after finishing 1984, you find yourself nervous and paranoid, then: good. You have just taken a step closer to respecting the importance of human freedom and dignity, and the dangers in allowing governments to usurp your freedom to dissent or be different. All that remains is to fight to maintain or regain your ownlife (read the book, you'll know what we mean)."

i read this book during english 12 and i thought it was quite interesting. i'm not a paranoid android, but my attention can be caught easily by cheap conspiracy theories from time to time. our teacher also showed us a movie called "wag the dog" right after finishing 1984 and the background and plot of the movie fit so well with the book. so if you enjoyed the book, then go rent this video when you get the chance. it stars dustin hoffman and robert de niro :).

cheers~

[nigggs]

We were forced to read it and do a whole semesters work of assignments on it. :notrust

[IkariBattousai]

This book really disappointed me. Throughout the entire story, Orwell seemed to be building up to something, and then git lazy in the end and didn't finish it like he had originally intended. I'm not saying that I required a happy ending or anything, but it just didn't seem like the full potetnial of the story was realized.


the book challenges the reader to discover the importance of human rights and the strength of the human psyche through a series of rather graphic events.

If it really deals with the strength of the human psyche, then why does it ignore the natural repsonse to rise up against something you are against?
Spoiler:
How come he just sits down and accepts it in the end?

[Orihime]

I would have liked the novel more if it wasn't assigned as a project and was forced to read a chapter or something before class. Then again, the book was pretty boring on its own, unless read by someone really into some of the sociological aspects (among other things of the book). Smart read tho. :x

Igenerally liked the premise of the novel, a controlled society where freedom of speech and thought is limited. Even entertaining the idea that some of the characters might have found this as an utopian society. *shrugs*

[n8dogg]

Never read 1984, but I absolutely LOVED Animal Farm. I really got into it. I saw the movie, but because they changed around a few elements, it lost its symbolism representing the rise of the Soviet Union and instead just became a movie about talking animals... Ah well, such is Hollywood.

[darkturkey]

I really loved The Animal Farm cartoon movie, and I also enjoyed 1984.
Although you know the end way ahead of time, I still managed to enjoy
almost every page of the book (the crap that was just from 'the book'
was a little tedious). Anyway, my round-up:
Animal Farm cartoon > 1984 > Animal Farm Book

[Neon]

Great book, the ending was quite depressing though. My only gripe is that i no longer trust my TV any more i always thinks it's watching me

[skethee2]

I loved the book
what ever it said is starting to come true in real life
the ending was sooo tragic
who ever knew it was all a trap

[Kimi Sama]

I know what you mean, Ikari. I was expecting some huge grand event at the end...and instead Winston gets broken. The end.

And yeah skethee2, it's all coming true. Not sure what it's like else where in the world but here in England it's getting more and more like 1984 every time the government does anything *fears for future*

[Supreme Commander Thor]

I prefer 1984 to animal farm. Animal farm was more entertaining, but I felt that 1984 has a message that is more vital. I think everyone should read both.

Big Brother is indeed a very scary thing.

[erfi]

1984 is too twisted...

It got boring and I missed what it's about...

But I thought it's a happy ending...where the main character is happy...:P

[scazza]

1984 is easily the greatest book ever created... my favourite

[KupoExMachina]

I find Fahrentheit 451 a much better book.

[kurisawa]

this novel was actually on my what to read lineup (yes thats right) but forgotten about it until i read this thread. haha

[akuma no omoigakenai saku]

Yeah, I read it in highschool too. We had to choose between 1984 and Brave New World, i think. I still haven't been able to convince myself to read Brave new World, so I can't compare them. It was a little boring, but kind of interesting too. I only skimmed the last few chapters and then read the last page, because I wasn't done it the day we had to write an essay on it. I guess it must be an important message, but I still get pissed off when people abusively reference "Big Brother", like when the US government tries to ban AK-47s and crackpots start saying that "Big Brother is cracking down on freedom." It was about extremes, and people use it with the whole slippery slope fallacy too often.

I'm from Canada, though. Our government just doesn't care enough to crack down. Bunch of slackers.

And, the parts of the movie that I've seen do seem to be pretty faithful to the book. Also, it had the chick from Caddyshack in it. It gets the double guns for that. :cool

[Shuzer]

I had to read it over the summer a couple of years ago for my Sophomore Lit. class. Out of the 3 I had to read (that, Catcher in the Rye, and Raisin in the Sun), 1984 probably entertained me the most. The whole idea of Doublethinking and Big Brother made me paranoid for a bit but I'm over it now...I think. :wink

[SofaKing]

Spoiler:
How come he just sits down and accepts it in the end?

That's the point of the book. Big Brother has become so powerful and advanced in his methods of oppression that he dosen't just kill you, he makes you give up phsycologically first. Thus the last line in the book (off the top of my head): "They had won. He loved Big Brother".

[Neon]

The fact that for once there wasn't a happy ending is why i liked it so much

Off topic- Post 700 :cool

[staradderdragoon]

i read it and i thought the front half sucked but the second half was pretty awesome...its a very hard read i think and it took me 2 times before i got it...its not a good book to read for school though

[Onmyou God]

One thing applies to me: "Stupidity is as important as intelligence and twice as hard to get."

XD

Anyway, also try Fritz Lang's movie "Metropolis." (Not anime! XD)

[explicitkarma]

but I still get pissed off when people abusively reference "Big Brother"

I agree, that's one of my gripes too.

Back to the topic, 1984 is one of my favorites as well. While it may be boring at parts, to me it's still such an interesting read. Especially with all the parallels to governments of the time "mostly Soviet". I get annoyed though when people claim that 1984 is "totally prophetic of the US government today." I see no evidence of it being "totally prophetic", but hey, different interpretations I guess. But my favorite theme in the book overall has to be betrayal. You have people betraying eachother in fear of Big Brother. You have Big Brother betraying the people. You have the people betraying Big Brother (boo-hoo). And when Winston finally betrayed Julia in the end, that was Big Brother's victory.

Under the spreading chestnut tree.
I sold you and you sold me.

[SSJKrillin]

1984 was a good novel. interesting ideas that can still be related to modern-day society.
If you like orwell you should read, obviously, Animal Farm, Down and Out in Paris and London, and Homage To Catalonia. Also he wrote brilliant essays.

i didn't think the ending was anti-climactic, i felt that it was a terrifying ending, like the ending of Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange".
kubrick didnt include the last chapter of the book in the film- the last chapleter where alex turns good of his own will.


2+2=5