George Orwell does not exist, neither has, nor will. George Orwell was really Eric Arthur Blair, as "George Orwell" was simply a pen name. Eric Blair was born in the year 1903, on June twenty-fifth. He was born in the country of Bengal, in the city of Motihari, and to two parents of the "lower-upper middle class," as he wryly wrote. These parents' names were Ida Mabel Limouzin and Richard Walmesley Blair. Richard Blair, the working man of the family, was employed as a sub-deputy opium agent under the Raj of Britain. The nature of his father's round-the-clock working schedule ensured that young Eric hardly ever saw his father until the year 1912, in which Richard had retired. Eric had also had a grandfather who had made a veritable fortune in the slave trade, but unfortunately for him the money had all been piddled away by the time Eric was born. He also was the brother to two sisters, whose names were Marjorie and Avril. When Eric was only a year old he and his mother moved over to England, and his father followed in 1912. When he turned five, he went to a simple parish church school which he remained at for two full years. He then was admitted to the prestigious school of St. Cyprian in the city of Sussex. He was given punishment daily there and this may have led, in part, to his disdain towards monarchy and other forms of higher government. He soon earned a scholarship to Eton College which he went to from 1917 to 1921. In 1922 Blair went to Burma, to follow the path his father had set out. He joined the Imperial Indian Police. After a while he grew to enjoy the company of the Burmese and also experienced even more resentment towards Imperialism. By 1927, Blair had resigned and moved on to set his roots in Paris. In Paris, he decided to try writing short stories, as writing had always been a beloved activity for Blair. He wrote freelance for many magazines, but none of his stories were published so he decided to destroy them. In 1932 Blair became a teacher, but not for long as he decided to go work for a bookstore in the mid 1930s. In 1936 Blair was married to Eileen O'Shaughnessy who shared his beliefs and his passions. They were together for about nine years before Eileen died, in the year 1945. Blair would soon follow, on January 21st of the year 1950, dying from a bad case of tuberculosis that he had had for the last three years. His many works would live on, however, in the hearts and minds of all who read them.
Like Blair? Find a more in-depth analysis of his life written by C.D. Merriman here.
---CHARACTERS OF 1984---
Winston: the main character, a hardworking middle-aged man who secretly harbors doubts over Ingsoc, or English Socialism. He works for the Ministries, specifically the Ministry of Truth, or Minitru in Newspeak.
Julia: Winston's secret lover, they both are secretly breaking the law by meeting with each other. She has an intense hatred of anything Party related, but successfully hides this.
O'Brien: SPOILER ALERT!!! One of Winston's co-workers who pretends to be part of the organization that is rebelling against the Party in secret, but secretly is a spy for the Party.
Big Brother: a shadowy figure that supposedly is the leader of the Party. Few, if any, have ever actually personally seen him.
The Proles: in the pyramid of power in the Party, Proles are the lowest, with the Outer Party being next highest, then the Inner Party, then Big Brother at the top. The Proles make up about 85 percent of socialist England's population.
---PLOT SYNOPSIS OF 1984---
This book is set in, obviously, the year 1984, in an alternate reality in which free thought has almost been eradicated and people have no privacy. The government controls everything. There is a perpetual war between Oceania, the setting of the book, and most of Asia. The protagonist, Winston Smith, is a middle-aged man who is beginning to realize that Big Brother (the "grand master" who is in control of the government and whose face is everywhere) may not even exist. This realization follows him everywhere he goes, and it cannot leave his head. He vents his torn feelings in his notebook where he feels he has total privacy. This cycle goes on for a while until, one day, he suddenly meets a woman, named Julia, who is thinking the same thoughts as he is; she hates the current government. They are both overjoyed to finally meet someone who shares their same secret doubts about Big Brother and the total perfection of the Party. They meet to talk about it (among other things...) and enjoy each others company. Then, one fateful day, they are discovered together talking about their beliefs. They are both arrested by a man named O'Brien whom Winston had thought was also someone of his beliefs, and taken away for questioning. Winston and Julia are separated and Winston is taken to an empty, dark room. He stays there for many days without food or water. Many other men are put in the room, and many are taken away by guards, screaming, "Not room 101!" Winston is left for yet more time in the room, starving and wondering what room 101 is. Finally he is taken to a room where he is beaten mercilessly and questioned in order to begin brainwashing him. Eventually he has been beaten so much he barely resembles his former self. He is then taken to room 101...
What is in room 101? Read the book to find out!
If you want to find some more info on this book, try a few of these other great wiki pages: 1984 AS 1984 BZ 1984 PK 1984, SRG
If you like this book and want to find books like it, you can try:
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, or The Giver by Lois Lowry. All of these present similar situations as in 1984.
---LITERARY INFORMATION OF 1984---
This book is a part of what is known as the social science fiction genre. It is approximately 310 pages long in the version I read, and it is written in the third person limited perspective, as it only shows Winston's perspective. The narrator tells everything that Winston thinks in his mind, too. This further adds to the limited perspective. The main protagonist is Winston, and the main antagonist is O'Brien.
---LITERARY ANALYSIS OF 1984---
In this book, the author uses a fairly common syntax and a fairly common diction for books of this genre. The syntax mainly stays normal, with regular length sentences and some longer ones. This shows how Winston has a very open view of his world, and he is not totally deceived by all the backdrops like his 'comrades' are. He sees things more clearly than others in his society. This is also shown by his opinions of others. The author successfully shows how Winston is a generally good judge of character. For example, he thinks one of his co-workers, Syme, is too smart and clear-sighted for his own good and this is what will be his downfall, as Winston understands the Party's way of doing things and knows Syme's overactive mind will eventually spell his doom. This, of course, comes true soon enough. This illustrates how masterfully the author manipulates his characters, as you can easily distinguish one character from another.
Another way the author manipulates your emotions while you are reading his story is hidden in the diction. He gives each character a different way of speaking, certain words only this character would say, or mannerisms only that character has. For example, Syme is always speaking Newspeak, which is a newly invented language which eliminates most words in the English language in order to make it almost impossible to think anything negative about the Party or Big Brother. Also, Julia is always speaking in a very informal dialect whenever she is outside of the Party's eye, but quickly switches back to her normal tone when she is back at work. This also shows how successful the author was in forming the characters.
---CRITICISM---
SCORE: 8.5/10
The Good: Very in-depth characters, no characters are wasted, does not pull punches, has realism to the point that it's scary.
The Bad: REALLY depressing, some parts seemed rather superfluous, such as some of the early parts.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book for two main reasons; it was realistic, and it didn't pull any punches. This book literally went inside the head of a man forced to live under extreme oppression, and Orwell presents it in a form that's pitch-perfect. Everybody behaves like real humans, there are no 'robotic moments', and everybody's reactions make you think, "That's probably what I would do in that situation, too." Orwell also didn't beat around the bush. This book has 1. Violence, 2. Sexual content, 3. Torture scenes, and much more that most books wouldn't have the guts to include.This book goes out of its way to make you feel engaged. Especially near the end, you feel like your eyes are glued to the book. This book had me bolted down, unable to stop reading.
However, if you are in the mood for happy unicorns and happy little bunnies in a happy meadow with happy flowers all doing a happy dance, this book is probably not your best choice. The atmosphere throughout the entire book is rather depressing and moody, and especially at some parts it feels downright hopeless. At several points I found myself in the fetal position in the corner of my room, reading the book and sucking my thumb. But if you can get past the depression and really give the book a deep look, you will find an incredibly deep experience is waiting, masterfully created by good old George "Eric Arthur Blair" Orwell.
1984 by George Orwell
---BIOGRAPHY OF GEORGE ORWELL---
George Orwell does not exist, neither has, nor will. George Orwell was really Eric Arthur Blair, as "George Orwell" was simply a pen name. Eric Blair was born in the year 1903, on June twenty-fifth. He was born in the country of Bengal, in the city of Motihari, and to two parents of the "lower-upper middle class," as he wryly wrote. These parents' names were Ida Mabel Limouzin and Richard Walmesley Blair. Richard Blair, the working man of the family, was employed as a sub-deputy opium agent under the Raj of Britain. The nature of his father's round-the-clock working schedule ensured that young Eric hardly ever saw his father until the year 1912, in which Richard had retired. Eric had also had a grandfather who had made a veritable fortune in the slave trade, but unfortunately for him the money had all been piddled away by the time Eric was born. He also was the brother to two sisters, whose names were Marjorie and Avril. When Eric was only a year old he and his mother moved over to England, and his father followed in 1912. When he turned five, he went to a simple parish church school which he remained at for two full years. He then was admitted to the prestigious school of St. Cyprian in the city of Sussex. He was given punishment daily there and this may have led, in part, to his disdain towards monarchy and other forms of higher government. He soon earned a scholarship to Eton College which he went to from 1917 to 1921. In 1922 Blair went to Burma, to follow the path his father had set out. He joined the Imperial Indian Police. After a while he grew to enjoy the company of the Burmese and also experienced even more resentment towards Imperialism. By 1927, Blair had resigned and moved on to set his roots in Paris. In Paris, he decided to try writing short stories, as writing had always been a beloved activity for Blair. He wrote freelance for many magazines, but none of his stories were published so he decided to destroy them. In 1932 Blair became a teacher, but not for long as he decided to go work for a bookstore in the mid 1930s. In 1936 Blair was married to Eileen O'Shaughnessy who shared his beliefs and his passions. They were together for about nine years before Eileen died, in the year 1945. Blair would soon follow, on January 21st of the year 1950, dying from a bad case of tuberculosis that he had had for the last three years. His many works would live on, however, in the hearts and minds of all who read them.
Like Blair? Find a more in-depth analysis of his life written by C.D. Merriman here.
---CHARACTERS OF 1984---
Winston: the main character, a hardworking middle-aged man who secretly harbors doubts over Ingsoc, or English Socialism. He works for the Ministries, specifically the Ministry of Truth, or Minitru in Newspeak.
Julia: Winston's secret lover, they both are secretly breaking the law by meeting with each other. She has an intense hatred of anything Party related, but successfully hides this.
O'Brien: SPOILER ALERT!!! One of Winston's co-workers who pretends to be part of the organization that is rebelling against the Party in secret, but secretly is a spy for the Party.
Big Brother: a shadowy figure that supposedly is the leader of the Party. Few, if any, have ever actually personally seen him.
The Proles: in the pyramid of power in the Party, Proles are the lowest, with the Outer Party being next highest, then the Inner Party, then Big Brother at the top. The Proles make up about 85 percent of socialist England's population.
---PLOT SYNOPSIS OF 1984---
This book is set in, obviously, the year 1984, in an alternate reality in which free thought has almost been eradicated and people have no privacy. The government controls everything. There is a perpetual war between Oceania, the setting of the book, and most of Asia. The protagonist, Winston Smith, is a middle-aged man who is beginning to realize that Big Brother (the "grand master" who is in control of the government and whose face is everywhere) may not even exist. This realization follows him everywhere he goes, and it cannot leave his head. He vents his torn feelings in his notebook where he feels he has total privacy. This cycle goes on for a while until, one day, he suddenly meets a woman, named Julia, who is thinking the same thoughts as he is; she hates the current government. They are both overjoyed to finally meet someone who shares their same secret doubts about Big Brother and the total perfection of the Party. They meet to talk about it (among other things...) and enjoy each others company. Then, one fateful day, they are discovered together talking about their beliefs. They are both arrested by a man named O'Brien whom Winston had thought was also someone of his beliefs, and taken away for questioning. Winston and Julia are separated and Winston is taken to an empty, dark room. He stays there for many days without food or water. Many other men are put in the room, and many are taken away by guards, screaming, "Not room 101!" Winston is left for yet more time in the room, starving and wondering what room 101 is. Finally he is taken to a room where he is beaten mercilessly and questioned in order to begin brainwashing him. Eventually he has been beaten so much he barely resembles his former self. He is then taken to room 101...
What is in room 101? Read the book to find out!
If you want to find some more info on this book, try a few of these other great wiki pages:
1984 AS
1984 BZ
1984 PK
1984, SRG
If you like this book and want to find books like it, you can try:
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, or The Giver by Lois Lowry. All of these present similar situations as in 1984.
---LITERARY INFORMATION OF 1984---
This book is a part of what is known as the social science fiction genre. It is approximately 310 pages long in the version I read, and it is written in the third person limited perspective, as it only shows Winston's perspective. The narrator tells everything that Winston thinks in his mind, too. This further adds to the limited perspective. The main protagonist is Winston, and the main antagonist is O'Brien.
---LITERARY ANALYSIS OF 1984---
In this book, the author uses a fairly common syntax and a fairly common diction for books of this genre. The syntax mainly stays normal, with regular length sentences and some longer ones. This shows how Winston has a very open view of his world, and he is not totally deceived by all the backdrops like his 'comrades' are. He sees things more clearly than others in his society. This is also shown by his opinions of others. The author successfully shows how Winston is a generally good judge of character. For example, he thinks one of his co-workers, Syme, is too smart and clear-sighted for his own good and this is what will be his downfall, as Winston understands the Party's way of doing things and knows Syme's overactive mind will eventually spell his doom. This, of course, comes true soon enough. This illustrates how masterfully the author manipulates his characters, as you can easily distinguish one character from another.
Another way the author manipulates your emotions while you are reading his story is hidden in the diction. He gives each character a different way of speaking, certain words only this character would say, or mannerisms only that character has. For example, Syme is always speaking Newspeak, which is a newly invented language which eliminates most words in the English language in order to make it almost impossible to think anything negative about the Party or Big Brother. Also, Julia is always speaking in a very informal dialect whenever she is outside of the Party's eye, but quickly switches back to her normal tone when she is back at work. This also shows how successful the author was in forming the characters.
---CRITICISM---
SCORE: 8.5/10
The Good: Very in-depth characters, no characters are wasted, does not pull punches, has realism to the point that it's scary.
The Bad: REALLY depressing, some parts seemed rather superfluous, such as some of the early parts.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book for two main reasons; it was realistic, and it didn't pull any punches. This book literally went inside the head of a man forced to live under extreme oppression, and Orwell presents it in a form that's pitch-perfect. Everybody behaves like real humans, there are no 'robotic moments', and everybody's reactions make you think, "That's probably what I would do in that situation, too." Orwell also didn't beat around the bush. This book has 1. Violence, 2. Sexual content, 3. Torture scenes, and much more that most books wouldn't have the guts to include.This book goes out of its way to make you feel engaged. Especially near the end, you feel like your eyes are glued to the book. This book had me bolted down, unable to stop reading.
However, if you are in the mood for happy unicorns and happy little bunnies in a happy meadow with happy flowers all doing a happy dance, this book is probably not your best choice. The atmosphere throughout the entire book is rather depressing and moody, and especially at some parts it feels downright hopeless. At several points I found myself in the fetal position in the corner of my room, reading the book and sucking my thumb. But if you can get past the depression and really give the book a deep look, you will find an incredibly deep experience is waiting, masterfully created by good old George "Eric Arthur Blair" Orwell.