George Orwell's real name was Eric Blair. He was born in 1903 in Motihari, Bengal, which is now the British colony in India. He was brought to England by his mother at the age of one. He didn't see his dad again until 1907 when his dad came to England for a business trip. George had an older sister named Marjorie and a younger sister named Avril. During his schooling he moved around many times. He was known for his journalism but had many other talents. He was looking up to be a promised writer and most people know him as a novelist for his books Animal Farm and 1984 which are his most popular works. To learn more about George Orwell click here
This was George Orwell
Plot Synopsis:
Winston is a man that believes differently than what the government says to be true. He knows from his job and from his memories that something isn't right. The year is 1984, or somewhere around there, and there are three main powerhouses throughout the world. Two of them are always fighting while the other is a ally to one of the two. Winston sets out to find the truth. He meets with traitors, breaks every rule in the book all to chase a reality that might not even be true, merely one that he thinks is true. On his adventures he uncovers secrets that no normal person should know. Read the book to find out what happens.
Literary Information:
1984 is written in third person limited. It is shown in the story when Winston is doing his actions and the narrator is telling what is happening. You can also see that it is not third person omniscient because the narrator only tells Winston's thoughts and not the other characters. The way it is written helps keep some vital information unknown to the reader until the very last possibly moment when Orwell makes the other characters physically speak it, creating the suspense in the story. The genre of 1984 is science fiction because the book is based on a imagination of 1984 that George Orwell had and that at the time he wrote about things that were not invented and not possible.
Literary Analysis:
The diction in the story ranges from neutral and formal. Although we see it as somewhat formal, back in the time period it is written in (1949), the people would have considered it completely normal, otherwise neutral. In this story there are some differences though. George Orwell creates a new language for the people of the story called "Newspeak" which comes from the English that George used when he wrote the book. The diction is not easily certain because to really know that answer you must actually be able to read, write, and speak the "Newspeak" language. So to us it sounds very formal which in turn makes the whole diction of the story shift a little bit more formal when if the new language had not been there, the diction would have seem very neutral. So it is hard to tell.
Criticism:
I personally thought that the book was very interesting and eye-opening. If I were to give it a rating from 1-5 stars, five being the best, I would give it a four. My reasons behind it are that the conflicts and characters are interesting and suspenseful, but when it came to the descriptive parts, I felt like it slowed down and got a little over-descriptive and boring. It is a longer read but I think it is worth it. Especially for those that have a big imagination and are open to all the possibilities.
If this sounded interesting, you may also want to read:
1984
By: George Orwell
328 pages
Genre: Science Fiction
About the Author:
George Orwell's real name was Eric Blair. He was born in 1903 in Motihari, Bengal, which is now the British colony in India. He was brought to England by his mother at the age of one. He didn't see his dad again until 1907 when his dad came to England for a business trip. George had an older sister named Marjorie and a younger sister named Avril. During his schooling he moved around many times. He was known for his journalism but had many other talents. He was looking up to be a promised writer and most people know him as a novelist for his books Animal Farm and 1984 which are his most popular works. To learn more about George Orwell click here
Plot Synopsis:
Winston is a man that believes differently than what the government says to be true. He knows from his job and from his memories that something isn't right. The year is 1984, or somewhere around there, and there are three main powerhouses throughout the world. Two of them are always fighting while the other is a ally to one of the two. Winston sets out to find the truth. He meets with traitors, breaks every rule in the book all to chase a reality that might not even be true, merely one that he thinks is true. On his adventures he uncovers secrets that no normal person should know. Read the book to find out what happens.
Literary Information:
1984 is written in third person limited. It is shown in the story when Winston is doing his actions and the narrator is telling what is happening. You can also see that it is not third person omniscient because the narrator only tells Winston's thoughts and not the other characters. The way it is written helps keep some vital information unknown to the reader until the very last possibly moment when Orwell makes the other characters physically speak it, creating the suspense in the story. The genre of 1984 is science fiction because the book is based on a imagination of 1984 that George Orwell had and that at the time he wrote about things that were not invented and not possible.
Literary Analysis:
The diction in the story ranges from neutral and formal. Although we see it as somewhat formal, back in the time period it is written in (1949), the people would have considered it completely normal, otherwise neutral. In this story there are some differences though. George Orwell creates a new language for the people of the story called "Newspeak" which comes from the English that George used when he wrote the book. The diction is not easily certain because to really know that answer you must actually be able to read, write, and speak the "Newspeak" language. So to us it sounds very formal which in turn makes the whole diction of the story shift a little bit more formal when if the new language had not been there, the diction would have seem very neutral. So it is hard to tell.
Criticism:
I personally thought that the book was very interesting and eye-opening. If I were to give it a rating from 1-5 stars, five being the best, I would give it a four. My reasons behind it are that the conflicts and characters are interesting and suspenseful, but when it came to the descriptive parts, I felt like it slowed down and got a little over-descriptive and boring. It is a longer read but I think it is worth it. Especially for those that have a big imagination and are open to all the possibilities.
If this sounded interesting, you may also want to read:
Slaughterhouse Five or Fahrenheit 451 or XenocideInformation for George Orwell Bio provided by http://www.george-orwell.org/l_biography.html
Picture for 1984 book cover provided by http://kelseybrongo.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/1984.159211540_std.png
Picture for George Orwell provided by http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/books/blog/GeorgeOrwell.jpg
Hope you enjoyed this Wiki.......... Maybe you might just give this book a try. :)