Eric Arthur Blair also known as George Orwell is considered the 20th centuries best chronicler of English culture. Eric was born on June 25th in 1905 in Motihari, Bengal. They lived there because his father, Richard, worked for the Opium Department of the Civil Service. He described his family as lower-upper-middle class. Eric's mom Ida took him to England when he was one, he did not see his father for three years. Eric had two sisters, Marjorie and Avril, one was older and one younger. When Eric was five he was sent to a Anglican parish school, then he was recommended to a very prestigious preparatory school in England called the St. Cyparian's School. After he attended both Wellington and Eton, many claim he was a terrible student and very disrespectful towards higher authority. During World War II Blair worked for the BBC. Blair is most well known for his books 1984 and Animal Farm. Orwell spent his last months dying of Tuberculosis. He died on January 21st 1950.
Plot Synopsis
Winston is a man that works for a government that controls everyone and everything. This government goes to extreme measures to make sure none of its civilians even think about rebelling. Winston strongly disagrees with the government but is too scared to act because he knows the consequences. In the factory where he works deleting history that goes against the government, Winston meets a dark haired girl named Julia. Julia agrees with his thoughts and they communicate through notes. Should Winston trust this girl? Your going to have to read the book to find out.
Literary Information
1984 contains many technological devices that we still have not been able to make. It also contains a government that is made up and is not likely to happen in the next few hundred years. So for genres for 1984 I would mostly go with Science Fiction but it could also fall under the Political category. Orwell loves to use imagery in this book. He uses it to describe the conditions they live in. In the beginning he has you imagining you are in the center of all of this chaos. The houses are crumbling, they eat terrible food, and you cannot go anywhere without being influenced by "Big Brother" propaganda. On top of all of this you feel pressure while reading because he lets you know you are being watched and your thoughts are being heard by the "Thought Police". The themes of the story could be always keep an eye on your government, stay involved in your government to help prevent it from getting out of hand or don't try to rebel your government just wait for things to improve because sooner or later someone will be fed up just like you.
(Apple uses an allusion to 1984 in their commercial releasing the Macintosh. Watch to get an idea of what the books setting is like.)
Literary Analysis
The diction of this story ranges from low to neutral. This is because the character is having many conversations with himself and he is not the most educated man, just a low ranking government worker. George Orwell made up many words and phrases in 1984 that now are commonly used. Some of these are "memory hole", "Big Brother", "Room 101", "doublethink", "thought police" and "newspeak". Orwell introduces the language called "newspeak" later on in 1984. This seems like a different level of diction but I would still categorize it under neutral.
Criticism
On a scale out of 10, I would give 1984 a 7 out of 10. This is because this book has very dull points that drag on for long periods of time. This book is very depressing and eerie but some people like that. This book does have its good, exciting parts but Orwell does make you suffer before you can get to them. I would definitely recommend this book for an older more educated reader. It is an American classic that everyone should read. It was boring but it did give you some thoughts on the things people thought what we live now would be like.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1984 by George Orwell
George Orwell Biography
Eric Arthur Blair also known as George Orwell is considered the 20th centuries best chronicler of English culture. Eric was born on June 25th in 1905 in Motihari, Bengal. They lived there because his father, Richard, worked for the Opium Department of the Civil Service. He described his family as lower-upper-middle class. Eric's mom Ida took him to England when he was one, he did not see his father for three years. Eric had two sisters, Marjorie and Avril, one was older and one younger. When Eric was five he was sent to a Anglican parish school, then he was recommended to a very prestigious preparatory school in England called the St. Cyparian's School. After he attended both Wellington and Eton, many claim he was a terrible student and very disrespectful towards higher authority. During World War II Blair worked for the BBC. Blair is most well known for his books 1984 and Animal Farm. Orwell spent his last months dying of Tuberculosis. He died on January 21st 1950.
Plot Synopsis
Winston is a man that works for a government that controls everyone and everything. This government goes to extreme measures to make sure none of its civilians even think about rebelling. Winston strongly disagrees with the government but is too scared to act because he knows the consequences. In the factory where he works deleting history that goes against the government, Winston meets a dark haired girl named Julia. Julia agrees with his thoughts and they communicate through notes. Should Winston trust this girl? Your going to have to read the book to find out.
Literary Information
1984 contains many technological devices that we still have not been able to make. It also contains a government that is made up and is not likely to happen in the next few hundred years. So for genres for 1984 I would mostly go with Science Fiction but it could also fall under the Political category. Orwell loves to use imagery in this book. He uses it to describe the conditions they live in. In the beginning he has you imagining you are in the center of all of this chaos. The houses are crumbling, they eat terrible food, and you cannot go anywhere without being influenced by "Big Brother" propaganda. On top of all of this you feel pressure while reading because he lets you know you are being watched and your thoughts are being heard by the "Thought Police". The themes of the story could be always keep an eye on your government, stay involved in your government to help prevent it from getting out of hand or don't try to rebel your government just wait for things to improve because sooner or later someone will be fed up just like you.
(Apple uses an allusion to 1984 in their commercial releasing the Macintosh. Watch to get an idea of what the books setting is like.)
Literary Analysis
The diction of this story ranges from low to neutral. This is because the character is having many conversations with himself and he is not the most educated man, just a low ranking government worker. George Orwell made up many words and phrases in 1984 that now are commonly used. Some of these are "memory hole", "Big Brother", "Room 101", "doublethink", "thought police" and "newspeak". Orwell introduces the language called "newspeak" later on in 1984. This seems like a different level of diction but I would still categorize it under neutral.
Criticism
On a scale out of 10, I would give 1984 a 7 out of 10. This is because this book has very dull points that drag on for long periods of time. This book is very depressing and eerie but some people like that. This book does have its good, exciting parts but Orwell does make you suffer before you can get to them. I would definitely recommend this book for an older more educated reader. It is an American classic that everyone should read. It was boring but it did give you some thoughts on the things people thought what we live now would be like.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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