Which is more important: staying true to one’s own beliefs, or surrendering those beliefs to fit in with those around oneself? 1984 was written by George Orwell, and it perfectly encapsulates this question. In the year 1984, society is controlled by a totalitarian government and its figurehead, Big Brother. Monitors are set up in every room and supposedly watch every citizen at random and unannounced times and make sure that they are staying true, loyals slaves to the government’s whim. A regular man named Winston and his lover Julia attempt to stand up against this group-think mentality, only to be captured by the government they defied and brainwashed to support the government like those around them. The story does an excellent job of portraying the bleak nature of the world and the futility of resistance. Orwell doesn't hesitate to detail the lack of distinction or variation between other characters’ thoughts or opinions, with Syme, Mr. Parsons, and Mr. Parsons’ children having near the same exact opinions as each other. 0I feel as this is what best cements the theme that nobody in the story has free will of their own, instead relying on doing and thinking what they are told instead of coming to conclusions by themselves. 1984 is masterfully written, and the first dozen pages do an impeccable job at hooking the reader into the story. That being said, my interest actually started to wane as the tale continued. The idea of a pair of lovers fighting against their tyrannical, evil government system seems a bit cliché, since the same exact kind of storyline used in nearly all modern teen romance books. I’m sure the idea seemed rather revolutionary at the time, but reading it in this day in age makes it seem somewhat stale in comparison to other books that I have read.The writing style was still absolutely perfect for the story, since a third-person point of view limited to Winston’s thoughts and emotions, and that helps the reader detach from Winston enough to not be as disturbed with his fate, but stay attached enough to him to stay interested in how his tale plays out. This book is best suited for people who enjoy philosophical looks at human nature and the natural flaws that humanity holds. However, to anyone else it will just seem like the kind of book that was enjoyed, but was not interesting enough to talk about. It was a nice book, but I honestly would have preferred to have read something with less suspense that was not as easy to predict. The constant suspense in the plot may be appealing to some, but with a plotline that was so obvious and predictable, the effect of the suspense was completely lost to the reader. The moments when the reader is supposed to be surprised or worrying about a character’s fate really just leaves the audience disappointed and bored. Looking past all of its flaws, the story does supply a few very intelligent questions that are rather thought-provoking, and I can assure any would-be readers that this book definitely changed the way I see the world around me. I liked this book, but it did not really seize my attention the way that other stories like The Pillars of the Earth, Othello, or even Hamlet were able to. 1984 is by no means a bad story; It just appeals to other people a lot more than it does to me. The aforementioned books had a lot more drama and action, which is what captivated my attention significantly more than this book was able to. The ending was the most dramatic part of the story, and while I found it thoroughly entertaining, I was relatively dissatisfied with how it took so long to get to something that interesting.
The story does an excellent job of portraying the bleak nature of the world and the futility of resistance. Orwell doesn't hesitate to detail the lack of distinction or variation between other characters’ thoughts or opinions, with Syme, Mr. Parsons, and Mr. Parsons’ children having near the same exact opinions as each other. 0I feel as this is what best cements the theme that nobody in the story has free will of their own, instead relying on doing and thinking what they are told instead of coming to conclusions by themselves.
1984 is masterfully written, and the first dozen pages do an impeccable job at hooking the reader into the story. That being said, my interest actually started to wane as the tale continued. The idea of a pair of lovers fighting against their tyrannical, evil government system seems a bit cliché, since the same exact kind of storyline used in nearly all modern teen romance books. I’m sure the idea seemed rather revolutionary at the time, but reading it in this day in age makes it seem somewhat stale in comparison to other books that I have read.The writing style was still absolutely perfect for the story, since a third-person point of view limited to Winston’s thoughts and emotions, and that helps the reader detach from Winston enough to not be as disturbed with his fate, but stay attached enough to him to stay interested in how his tale plays out.
This book is best suited for people who enjoy philosophical looks at human nature and the natural flaws that humanity holds. However, to anyone else it will just seem like the kind of book that was enjoyed, but was not interesting enough to talk about. It was a nice book, but I honestly would have preferred to have read something with less suspense that was not as easy to predict. The constant suspense in the plot may be appealing to some, but with a plotline that was so obvious and predictable, the effect of the suspense was completely lost to the reader. The moments when the reader is supposed to be surprised or worrying about a character’s fate really just leaves the audience disappointed and bored. Looking past all of its flaws, the story does supply a few very intelligent questions that are rather thought-provoking, and I can assure any would-be readers that this book definitely changed the way I see the world around me.
I liked this book, but it did not really seize my attention the way that other stories like The Pillars of the Earth, Othello, or even Hamlet were able to. 1984 is by no means a bad story; It just appeals to other people a lot more than it does to me. The aforementioned books had a lot more drama and action, which is what captivated my attention significantly more than this book was able to. The ending was the most dramatic part of the story, and while I found it thoroughly entertaining, I was relatively dissatisfied with how it took so long to get to something that interesting.