Monday, October 9, 2017

1984 by George Orwell

If I am stranded on an island with the option to keep just one book with myself, it will be 1984. The word dystopia is the opposite of utopia, but I got to learn from 1984 what exactly it means.

Since there is plenty of information on the internet, there is no use in describing the book. You can read it online on Project Gutenberg here.

Here are some excerpts:

We know history is altered all the time...Orwell just makes it more explicit.

Dunbar might disagree, or not. How would I know?

Inner Party: Ruling classes
Outer Party: Bureaucracy
Proles: Me and you

"...no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it."

Nothing to say here.

"You want it to happen to the other person."

Section 66A is the closest we have come to the Thought Police.
Internationally, it is PRISM. Or is this all we know for now?

I doubt if any sane organisation will keep slogans like these.

Orwell sure created a whole world in this book.

Only if you knew, Winston!

"Vaporized was the usual word."

Doublethink, Newspeak, Big Brother.. these and a few more memes
have only come up because of Orwell's work in 1984.

"Zeal was not enough. Orthodoxy was unconsciousness."

Idiots would not be vaporized.

Freedom in the time of falsehood.

"..intimate connection between chastity and political orthodoxy."

Vaporization in action.



Same question to you: what one book would you take if its the only one allowed on an island with no electricity and other sources of passing time?

5 comments:

  1. 1984 would sure be up there for me. A good one indeed. Sure shows a frightening future, one that can become all too real.

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    Replies
    1. I sometimes we are living through the future you talk about here. History has always been written by the victors to their advantage. Facts are always presented to the benefit of the authorities.

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  2. 1984 is a fantastic and fast paced story. I loved this book.

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    Replies
    1. The fast paced part really gets to you the first time you read it.

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  3. 1984 is fantastic.. and holds true even now...
    the other one I'd pick is Atlas Shrugged.. the words seem to ring true even now...

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