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/lit/ - Literature

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1286379 No.1286379 [Reply] [Original]

just finished reading george orwell's 1984.

looking for some people to discuss it with.

>> No.1286387

After watching the film adaptation(which I highly recommend, btw), I've decided to re-read this.

What'd you think of it, OP?

>> No.1286397

Sort of related, the animated movie based on animal farm was an insult to its intended point.

most of it was fine, they just decided to give it a happy ending...DERP.

>> No.1286407

>>1286387
i have not seen the movie, though i really want too.
i really enjoyed the book, it made me think about the society we live in now and how close it is to Oceania. It also in a way scared me, it seems to me that we are slowly drifting towards this oppressive society.

>> No.1286417

selfbump -_-

>> No.1286418

>>1286407
I dunno man, on most issues we seem to be fine. Sure we could be better here and their. But at the moment we have no way near the level of control shown in the book.

I see us closer to Brave New World than 1984.

>> No.1286427

putting the political philosophy of the book aside
the love story in the book never gets any recognition at all which i feel is powerful

the lengths at which they went to just be alone with each other and how they savored each moment was magic to me

>> No.1286436

>>1286407
>i have not seen the movie, though i really want too

For the record, there are two versions: a 1954 version, and a 1984 version. The 1954 version is available on Youtube if you're interested. It's good in its own way (in fact, before I saw the 1984 version, I loved it), but in light of the 1984 version, it comes off as having a sort of "B-movie" feel to it.

>>1286397

I had mixed feelings about the ending; on one hand, yeah, it really takes away the power of the book, but at the same time, it's somewhat justified because Stalin had died the year before.

I really wish they had the animals talk in the film, though. Benjamin's incessant "he-hawing" pissed me off.

>> No.1286440
File: 447 KB, 950x3254, orwellhuxley1.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1286440

>>1286418
Relevant.
1/2

>> No.1286446
File: 605 KB, 950x4326, orwellhuxley2.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1286446

>>1286440
2/2

>> No.1286468

>>1286418
yes i feel that we are not exceedingly similar but in the past few years our government has begun taking our civil liberties in return for "safety". so in this way i think we are drifting towards Oceania.

>> No.1286473

>>1286468

Incidently, which country do you live in?

>> No.1286482

i have lately become exceedingly interested in socialism and communism. i dream of setting the masses free and raising the standard of living for them, but after reading this book i have mixed feelings. i fear that if i did start a revolution and it did succeed, what would become of it after i passed? i also see this in history, referring to Stalin and Che.

>> No.1286485

>>1286473
i live in the California, USA

>> No.1286494

lennin and che*

>> No.1286497
File: 751 B, 325x217, Democratic%20Kampuchea%20Flag%201%20(1975-1979).gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1286497

>>1286482
>i also see this in history, referring to Stalin and Che.

Incidently, I've been reading up on the Khmer Rouge lately, and I've been wondering what Orwell would say and feel about the Democratic Kampuchea. I mean, it was basically an agrarian version of a fully-realized Oceania.

>> No.1286501

>>1286482
>referring to Stalin and Che.

Don't forget Mao.
It's just how humans function. When we acquire power, they become greedy - for both wealth and more power. It's important to note, though, that nobody ever thinks that what they're doing is evil. In their own minds, they've convinced themselves that what they do is for the greater good. That, I think, is one of the novel's shortcomings. O'Brien takes pleasure in what he does. I think that isn't representative of how an actual person might act in the situation.

>> No.1286505
File: 42 KB, 413x413, 104305001.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1286505

sage

>See 1984 thread

>sage the fuck out of it

>> No.1286506

>>1286501
i mispoke when i said stalin, i ment to say lennin.

that was a main point of the book however, the party was able to obtain and keep power because they didnt dilute them selfs to what they were doing was "good".

>> No.1286507

Well-written and interesting, but Christ, I can't stand how obvious its message is. Overt allegories generally just piss me off.

>> No.1286514

>>1286505

Agreed. I'm sick of seeing a 1984 post on the front page of /lit/ every single day.

I'm not even going to bother saying how entry-level this book is either. Er.

>> No.1286535

I also recently finished 1984 and I have a theory that I want to run by all of you.

What if Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia don't actually exist? I think that Britain has convinced its people that these empires exist to keep order. Meanwhile, they drop bombs on their own cities to keep the people believing that they are actually at war so that they have a common cause to work towards. They control all technology so no outside information can get it (like radio waves) which leaves their people blind to the outside world. Opinions?

>> No.1286554

>>1286535
i have theorized with this but no on that level. when i was reading about the rocket bombs i truly though that they were attacking themselfs. although this doesnt explain why the enemy was constantly changing. still a possibility however.

>> No.1286558

>>1286535
Then our protagonist turned the same questions around towards his own country's government. And his stoner friends at the lunch table gasped.

>> No.1286560

>>1286535
Always a possibily, kind of like modern day N.Korea.
Alan Moore explored that in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, (The Big Brother government lasts from 1948-1954ish) Big Brother dies, O'brien takes over but can't maintain power, so he concedes to demands for elections again.

>> No.1286592

>>1286468
>>1286485
sup, Tea Part

>> No.1286885

>>1286592
yeah bro, tell me about it.

>> No.1286899

>>1286560
Theres a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen novel?

>> No.1286916

>>1286899
comic.

>> No.1286922

>>1286916
Graphic Novel.

>> No.1286946

>>1286922
> Graphic Novel.

>> No.1287010

>>1286501
Sure is received knowledge in here.
I like how Mao is assumed to have been motivated solely by a desire to amass personal wealth and power without evidence.

Not that leaders don't want power to some degree. But there are legitimate reasons for wanting power than for power's sake.


>humans are inherently greedy
>cliché about how power corrupts

>>1286482
Che became corrupt after the revolution? The only 'bad' thing that he did then was accepting the responsibility to review the cases of repressive officials of the previous government during the tribunals instead of possibly deporting them (to the US where they would probably work with the CIA to organize invasion forces).