I FINALLY finished reading 1984 and ngl its actually crazy.
I feel like it's obvious as i'm talking about the book, but spoiler warning for 1984 by George Orwell. I somehow managed ti avoid most the significant spoilers for this and i honestly think the message of the book hits a lot harder the less you know going into it.
☆
"Has it ever occured to you, Winston, that by the year 2050, at the very latest, not a single human being will be alive who could understand such a conversation as we are having now?" - Syme, talking about NewSpeak.
The fact that there are so mamy parallels between the Newspeak on this book an the internet slamg that evolved to work around government censors is a little insane. (I.e. 'unalive' is very much reminiscient of the words they have in newspeak, as they use 'ungood' instreas of bad) And i genuinely do think the prevalence this sort of internet slang has gathered is something that needs to be looked at.
Also not Orwell sorta predicting gen AI in literary spaces -> They have machines that write stories and the increase in their use largely coincides with the declining education of the 'proles'
I don't like the way Winston talks and thinks about Julia for a large chunk of this book. I understand that his sexism amd views on things are intended to be problematic as a reflection of the teachings of their society but I feel like the same messaged could've been easily conceived with some less graphic thoughts from him.
I'm definitely going to reread this at some point as I'm sure I missed things and there were a couole parts that still confused me a little by the end.
Dang that's a lot of yap for my first blog post, sorry for any typos. <3
Comments
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Kira
I wish more people knew about this book, that is so unfair in some countries it's on a banned book list! In Poland we have this title as required book in middle schools. The book is very thought provoking and a bit uncomfortable/confusing, but I believe it is a feeling which we should experience from books which are focused on such topics.
Oh my goodness i love that it's required reading! I think its got such important themes that absolutely need to be studied. I wish i had the opportunity to look at it in an actual educational setting because getting a chance to properly discuss the analysis would be awesome.
And i 100% agree it's really important for books to have uncomfortable or confusing themes because they're things that need to be discussed <3
by MarSajr; ; Report
I think it's also nice you had the chance to decide when you want to read it and how, usually there is not enough time to read the required book, so basically we focus on learning the most important things just to pass the test. This is also the reason why I want to reread this book, because of your blog I already know I will start it after I finish my current book!<3
by Kira; ; Report
Oh yeah fair enough, the way some schools teach literature is not the most effective.
Glad you still want to reread it in you own time though :)
Atleast school's teaching didn't put you off
by MarSajr; ; Report
pondjoose
this book is one of my favorite pieces of political commentary. very telling that it's on a banned book list... anywho, great post!! i'm so glad you enjoyed it, makes me wanna reread it!
<3
YES I LOVED IT SO MUCH i actually think it's so ridiculous that books like this get banned because the messages they share are so important to be understood
by MarSajr; ; Report