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Big Brother is taking shape... (Reply to this comment)
by vemartin
As the years march on from 1984, bit and pieces of Orwell tale are coming to life. The recent move by the Bush Administration to remove several hundred declassified documents from the National Archives and then reclassify them should give every citizen pause. But there has been no great outcry, no lawsuits, only minute passing stories on NPR and other like-mind news outlets. Couple that with the Bush mantra that “We are making progress” on just about every issue, despite the fact that we are not, and the ever changing reasons for our excursion in Iraq, and we have Big Brother taking shape pixel by pixel, election by election.
Great review…
Vincent
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Jun 12 '06
6:53 am PDT
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Re: Dystopias (Reply to this comment)
by asafono
I would encourage you to factor your comment out and publish it as a separate review. You articulated many of the points about 1984 which I understood vaguely but could not express.
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Mar 18 '04
9:26 am PST
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Re: ----------- (Reply to this comment)
by asafono
Sorry, I don't see how this is related to the review or the rest of the comments. Care to clarify?
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Mar 18 '04
9:24 am PST
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Dystopias (Reply to this comment)
by johngo
As you were kind enough to comment on a recent review of mine I thought that I would return the compliment.
I was disappointed with your review of 1984, and while there is something to be said for comparisons with other dystopian novels, you could also have referred to Darkness at Noon, by Arthur Koestler, and One by David Karp, to name a couple of others which, in my view, are closer parallels to 1984 than We even though it is known that Orwell read the book in the French translation.
I think that you miss the point of 1984 both in terms of plot and in terms of literature. What makes 1984 so compelling is Orwell's emphasis on the inter-relationship between language and thought, and his presentation of the different registers of English. A self-consciously strenuous writer, his essays include 'Politics and the English Language'. He was the teacher of the spare, simple, belle-lettres style that many of us were drilled to emulate. 1984 is a showcase of the different registers: there is the narrative itself, beautiful prose, polished, elegant, urbane story-telling. There is the stumbling writing of Winston Smith in his diary. The shock of what he wrote in the first entry in his diary is one of the great moments in 20th century English fiction.
The over-scholarly style of The Book contrasts with the rest of the narrative in pomposity and portentousness, and that is why this section of the novel is so important.
Occasionally, there are incongruities: given the limited ability of Winston Smith to express his feelings in writing, it is hard to believe that he would be capable of perceiving the beauty of the singing proletarian.
I haven't a copy of 1984 to hand so I can't quote the passage exactly, but Smith is with Julia in the room above Charrington's shop, and he hears a woman singing outside. He looks out and sees a massive proletarian woman pegging out washing on the line and singing a tripey sentimental song as she is doing so. The woman is broadened by having had several, perhaps many children. She is coarsened by hard work and poor food. Smith recognizes the woman's beauty, and he notices that only the birds and the proles sing, and he says that if there is hope it lies with the proles.
(There is no insight of this profundity in any of the other novels referred to.)
What Orwell achieves is the perfect balance. The closest parallel that I know of is the protagonist in Darkness at Noon who despite his innocence, finally reconciles his trial and its verdict of guilty as a necessary sacrifice to the benefit of the Party, but even this is superficial compared with Orwell's vision, because the Party is still believed in.
In 1984, Winston Smith is remade, redeemed. The horror lies in the last sentence. 'He loved Big Brother', he has been purged, freed of sin, made perfect.
To obtain this redemption, he has been driven to the depths of shame. Broken, he cries out 'Do it to Julia.' There is nothing so pitiful in any of the other books. This is Orwell staring into the abyss, and making us stare as well, because we all know, now that he has shown it to us, that there is a Room 101, and that if we are ever are sent there, we too will cry 'Do it to Julia' in the end.
(Nothing of this intensity in any of the other novels...)
Where Orwell also scores over the others is his depiction of the goals of the Party. 'Imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever.'
Of course there is no accounting for taste, and no reason at all why someone shouldn't prefer something less disturbing to something more disturbing, but Orwell looked deeper, and harder, and more unflinchingly at conformity, rebellion, and conversion than any of the others; but his greatest achievement is his revelation of the way political thought and political language are intertangled.
John
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Mar 13 '04
12:22 am PST
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Re: I am afraid you are not doing 1984 justice... (Reply to this comment)
by jankp
I found those pages boring and unnecessary because with Winston I already gathered that info. Winston says he didn't learn anything too. I believe it stopped the book dead and books should only progress.
Jan
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Mar 08 '04
3:25 pm PST
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I am afraid you are not doing 1984 justice... (Reply to this comment)
by asafono
He [Orwell] includes many, unnecessary pages from ‘the book’ for those joining the Underground that Winston is reading, then reading out loud to Julia.
The expose attributed by Orwell to Goldstein is central to understanding the political, economic and social structure of the 1984 world. No wonder
you failed to (fully) appreciate Orwell's insight.
Good point, Brian, on the supposed target of Orwell's satire - contemporary postwar Britain. He of course depicted a true totalitarian regime which Britain never was, not even during the LP's time in power.
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Mar 08 '04
9:58 am PST
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Re: scary old England (Reply to this comment)
by jankp
Well, can't it be doing both? It's a matter of interpretation probably. I think Erich Fromme mentioned Stalin, but will check. Good comment.
Jan
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Mar 07 '04
12:44 pm PST
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scary old England (Reply to this comment)
by voxpoptart
Why did the government "go to the trouble" of publishing a newspaper in constant need of revising? Well, why did the British newspapers, government-prompted, go in seconds from "Stalin is a great champion and preserver of democracy" to "Stalin is the epitome of evil"? Why did American papers, government-prompted, go from "Saddam Hussein is our ally against Iran" to "Saddam Hussein is worse than Hitler"?
Animal Farm was an attack on Stalinism, but 1984 was _not_. It was an attack on the British government of the time, and its working title was 1948. The decaying British architecture, the massive reversals in public opinion with no one admitting anything had changed: that was his world. Not too dissimilar from ours. Doesn't mean you enjoyed the book (though i did, in a twisted way), but unlike We, it's not "science fiction".
Anyway! My little lecture of the morning. A good review otherwise, and I did think the part of the review where you outline the Generic Dystopian Novel Plot was amusing and all-too-true. Cheers!
- Brian
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Mar 07 '04
5:55 am PST
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Re: This book is NOT about a Nazi regime (Reply to this comment)
by jankp
I didn't mean to imply that. I said atmosphere, meaning the terror and persecution of that regime, but I know it's mocking Stalinism too and will add that. Thanks.
Jan
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Mar 06 '04
1:00 am PST
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This book is NOT about a Nazi regime (Reply to this comment)
by buffoonery
It is a satire of Stalinism. It earned Orwell eternal hate from the socialists, communists, and fellow travellers who thought that the Soviet Union was a beacon of hope instead of the murderous tyranny it really was.
And, despite the musings below of the 29th Candidate, a smart fellow who really ought to better, the political and economic freedom in this country is unparalleled in human history and, if there is a threat to our freedom, it is from an unelected judiciary.
buff
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Mar 05 '04
9:54 pm PST
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Re: "dystopic future" (Reply to this comment)
by jankp
:-) Think about it, about everything, be conscious and aware...
Jan
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Mar 05 '04
2:01 pm PST
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Re: "1984:" It's Like Going Back To The Future... (Reply to this comment)
by jankp
Win! I'm so pleased to hear you say that about the government. I hope more readers catch that from the review. Thanks.
Jan
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Mar 05 '04
1:59 pm PST
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Re: 1984 (Reply to this comment)
by jankp
I think I read Animal Farm instead of this one, Bryan. Should read it again for pleasure as all good books should be.
Jan
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Mar 05 '04
1:54 pm PST
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"dystopic future" (Reply to this comment)
by ruby950
I'm impressed! And I hadn't thought of this book in years.
My best,
Deborah~
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Mar 05 '04
5:43 am PST
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"1984:" It's Like Going Back To The Future... (Reply to this comment)
by 29th_Candidate
The tragic ending makes this one of my favorites. I only wish it was a bit more "apparently" reflective of reality, instead of just "actually" reflective of reality. People should be much more alarmed at the similarities this story bears to our current government's abuse of authority, censorship and propaganda and its unlawful usurpation of our inalienable freedoms, rights and privileges; not lulled into complacency by the story's distracting disparities. Excellent review, j.
--Win (That's the Newspeak version of "Winston")
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Mar 05 '04
5:25 am PST
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1984 (Reply to this comment)
by Bryan_Carey
I remember reading this book in high school, back in 1984, and debating with other students over the meaning and possibilities of Orwell's ideas. I had forgotten some of the key points of the writing. Thanks for bringing back memories of my youth!
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Mar 05 '04
5:24 am PST
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