George Orwell might have gotten the year wrong, but slowly 1984 is becoming reality. I suggest that anyone who hasn't read it before should consider reading it now.

A couple excerpts-

"All that was required of them was a primitive patriotism which could be appealed to whenever it was necessary to make them accept longer working hours or shorter rations. And even when they did become discontented, as they sometimes did, their discontent led nowhere, because, being without general ideas, they could only focus it on petty specific grievances. The larger evils invariably escaped their notice."


"The economy of many countries was allowed to stagnate, land went out of cultivation, capital equipment was not added to, great blocks of the population were prevented from working and kept half alive by State charity. But this, too, entailed military weakness, and since the privations it inflicted were obviously unnecessary, it made opposition inevitable. The problem was how to keep the wheels of industry turning without increasing the real wealth of the world. Goods must be produced, but they need not be distributed. And in practice the only way of achieving this was by continuous warfare.

The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but the products of human labor. War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent. Even when weapons of war are not actually destroyed, their manufacture is still a convenient way of expanding labor power without producing anything that can be consumed...In principle the war effort is always so planned as to eat up any surplus that might exist after meeting the bare needs of the population...And at the same time the consequences of being at war, and therefore in danger, makes the handing-over of all power to a small caste seem the natural, unavoidable condition of survival."

[Edited on 13-1-2004 by worshipthemoon]

it's definately a great book, i've read it countless times now. also got to see a 16mm copy of the 1956 version of the film which was really good as well. seeing as though there were two endings, what do you think has more impact-winston being broken, or holding out and being shot?

Pain didn't break him, Starvation didn't break him Humiliation didn't break him in the end it was fear!

Originally posted by peter
it's definately a great book, i've read it countless times now. also got to see a 16mm copy of the 1956 version of the film which was really good as well. seeing as though there were two endings, what do you think has more impact-winston being broken, or holding out and being shot?

I've got a copy of the b&w 1956 version. It was very well done. it's so much better than the color version made in the 1980's.

1984 is dubbleplusgood.

Such a great book. Read it time and again.

My favorite line has to be from Julia: "If you keep the little rules, you can break the big ones." Very true in today's society.

Originally posted by Taxman
1984 is dubbleplusgood.

Lol!! I agree

Then, when you're done reading it, go have some Victory Gin!

Should be a mandatory read nowadays!

Originally posted by TheCatalyst

Originally posted by Taxman
1984 is dubbleplusgood.

Lol!! I agree

Thanks. I thought that would be a pithy comment. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU!

Great book.
Though I didn't think so when I first read it as our authorities messed it up for me.


They made me study it at school.

A good book from a literary point of view, but quite frankly it does more harm than good I think. Somehow it injects a hopelessness into the mind over the course of its pages. It paints such a dim picture of the world that I find it hard to smile right after finishing it up. That humans could come to be so twisted, and just plain out f-ed in the head is just beyond me, put apparantly not beyond the human mind as Orwell proved simply by writing the book.

Originally posted by alternateheaven
A good book from a literary point of view, but quite frankly it does more harm than good I think. Somehow it injects a hopelessness into the mind over the course of its pages. It paints such a dim picture of the world that I find it hard to smile right after finishing it up. That humans could come to be so twisted, and just plain out f-ed in the head is just beyond me, put apparantly not beyond the human mind as Orwell proved simply by writing the book.

well considering the time period it was written in plus the fact he was in a convent being treated for an illness, i attribute how it was written to his mental state and events during the time period, not how most see it as how society is heading or whatever.

Originally posted by NotTooHappy
Then, when you're done reading it, go have some Victory Gin!

And some Freedom Fries to go with it

Originally posted by Pisky

Originally posted by NotTooHappy
Then, when you're done reading it, go have some Victory Gin!

And some Freedom Fries to go with it

No # huh! I never thought of it that way.

Originally posted by namehere

Originally posted by alternateheaven
A good book from a literary point of view, but quite frankly it does more harm than good I think. Somehow it injects a hopelessness into the mind over the course of its pages. It paints such a dim picture of the world that I find it hard to smile right after finishing it up. That humans could come to be so twisted, and just plain out f-ed in the head is just beyond me, put apparantly not beyond the human mind as Orwell proved simply by writing the book.

well considering the time period it was written in plus the fact he was in a convent being treated for an illness, i attribute how it was written to his mental state and events during the time period, not how most see it as how society is heading or whatever.

Ill or not he was pretty damn accurate with some things, but I hope sincerely that the accuracy stops with those few. It seems WW2 affected so many people and moved them to write things they may not have normally written. It brought about things like 1984 and Pink Floyd's The Wall

I think 1984 should be required reading for ATS members.

Be sure to also read:

"Animal Farm" by George Orwell

"It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis

"The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand

"Atlas Shrugged"

"The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck

"On the Road" by Jack Kerouac

"Native Son" by Richard Wright

"Rabbit, Run" by John Updike

Not all of these are political, but they do have strong social commentary.