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I read this in about 1953, and everyone said Look, that's what Russia is like. Then when 1984 really came, everyone who re-read it said Hey, it looks more like America. They said it very quietly, and America just sort of hoped the book would go away and nobody would notice it.
Emmanuel Goldstein's 'book within a book' that explains how the world got to be that way is scarily close to the mark.
In the book, Big Brother appears on a living room screen to deliver propaganda to everyone, and they can't switch it off. Orwell was optimistic. Now Big Brother appears on a screen and people can switch it off, but they don't, so the absence of the propaganda dimmer is completely unnecessary.
I read it very recently because of all the references to it I have seen around the web. I figured I had better understand what exactly people were talking about when they said "Orwellian" and "big brother".
It was a very intriguing book and well written in my opinion. I was thrown off and upset by the ending. I guess I just always thought it would end well. Don't know why I haven't learned that 'required reading' never ends happily.
It made me nervous because I could see a lot of correlations to today's world. I guess I need to read Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" next so I know why people keep saying, "Who is John Gault?" :]
The objective of the book wasn't to tell a story. It is for this reason why I hate reading books that have some other much stronger agenda behind them. It makes it impossible to read.
I read it in the 70s and kept the book in paperback. I reread it again this year because of reality today.
I especially like the part about the renaming of things or the naming of things that are the opposite of what they actually are. The rewriting of history and events gave me pause, too.
I read it very recently because of all the references to it I have seen around the web. I figured I had better understand what exactly people were talking about when they said "Orwellian" and "big brother".
It was a very intriguing book and well written in my opinion. I was thrown off and upset by the ending. I guess I just always thought it would end well. Don't know why I haven't learned that 'required reading' never ends happily.
It made me nervous because I could see a lot of correlations to today's world. I guess I need to read Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" next so I know why people keep saying, "Who is John Gault?" :]
I recommend that book. I finished it about a month ago. Rand makes very interesting arguments which I am still thinking about.
Brainwash being a central theme in all these books.
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