I’m surprised how little the book talked about utopian and dystopian novels. It seems like the book tries to focus a lot more on painters and poets, when there’s so much great literature that it barely discusses. It gives all of two sentences to 1984, a book written by George Orwell in 1949 as his prediction of what the future would be like. 1984 gives the reader a greater feeling of hopelessness and dread than any other book out there. Almost every aspect of the characters’ lives is controlled by the government, which is headed by a possibly-fictional dictator called Big Brother. The book centers around the character Winston Smith, who is determined to rebel against the government and become a member of a rumored resistance group called the Brotherhood. Winston’s efforts prove futile; he ends up being found out and tortured until he is brainwashed and completely submissive to the government he tried to fight. The book’s last line reads: “He loved Big Brother.”
This book reflects a growing fear in the mid and late 1940s of a totalitarian government that could strip people of their personal freedoms. The book was published around the time that World War II ended, when the effects of the war were still being felt. People were worried that a war like World War I or World War II could happen again, but that it would be much worse and could lead to a government like the one in 1984. A character in the book says to Winston, “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.” Although the book is very sinister, it is one of my favorites because it doesn’t end happily like many others; it gives the reader something to think about after they’re finished. It was relevant then and is still relevant now, because people always seem to be scared that a government will gain too much power.
I am a HUGE fan of "1984" and agree with you wholeheartedly that Orwell is pitifully under-represented in our textbook. "1984" is definitely my favorite of the dystopian novels, but, if you haven't read "Brave New World," I would wholeheartedly recommend it. While Orwell's book is more terrifying on the surface, Huxley's horror is much more subtle. The world in his novel doesn't sound THAT bad. Then again, out of the two, it seems to me that Huxley's is more likely. Mankind is too stubborn to let what we hate (the world of 1984) rule us. However, I'm slightly less certain that we'd fight off being destroyed by what brings us pleasure... Just some interesting food for thought. Loved your post! :-)
ReplyDelete1984 was possibly the only book in high school that I actually enjoyed reading. And while I'm not saying that today's world is the same as what Orwell portrayed it as, he did come pretty close in some respects. The government has access to all kinds of media, and who knows what type of personal information they dig up on us. They may very well just be biding their time to strike. Ok, so maybe I'm taking it a bit far, but still. 1984 = great book.
ReplyDeleteGood thinking about how literature like 1984 has not been mentioned in our book. My thought is if I wasted my time in high school reading it, it should be important enough to be mentioned in our humanities book.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised this idea of "government controlling" really has not been talked about through any humanities/art form in our text. Us Americans do not seem to think about this very often but the government really does or potentially can know everything about us....