The main character who’s named Winston gets a journal, which wouldn’t have been that bad, except that he (of course) wrote in. This is considered a thought crime which he commits over and over again. He thinks the thought police will come and get him soon. He doesn’t really accept it but, he doesn’t try to escape it either. This goes on for a while until he meets Julia, his love interest. But the story isn’t really about that. The main point is (Most likely) showing us what a future so oriented on control would look like. It’s pretty dark if you really think about it.

The theme of this book is to avoid complete control, like dictatorship, which is called totalitarianism. This link is a good summary of the book and has good ideas about it. But George Orwell does have a nice distinct style of writing. In (I think) 7th and 8th grade they used the beginning of this book a part of the LA assessment. It was interesting using a lot of descriptions and imagery. It made me want to read the book but I never got around to it until now. But I was a little disappointed because it was so slow and a bit boring. This book wasn’t quite what I would want to read.

There’s lots of defining characteristics about 1984. Here are some things you should know about this book.

First of all, this book in my opinion should not be on class’ reading lists. It is a really slow book. There’s a few tense moments in it but I definitely wouldn’t consider it an action book. But if you were to read this book, I’d say you should read it carefully. Make sure that you understand what is happening. The author, George Orwell, has a distinct style of writing. (Like I said before) It’s slow, but it still keeps you interested enough to have you continue reading. Last thing is if you compare the book to our world it might leave you thinking, you might not want to speculate it too much.

I chose to do Julia since she’s pretty much the only other significant character besides obviously Winston. But the scene/part of the book that I chose starts on page 99 because it’s one of the main parts with Julia and Winston. What she is to Winston is his love interest/crush.

As we got further away from the true path, Winston started to relax. A quick side glance showed that he was staring inten at the sash on my hip. The bright red stood out and I silently cursed it and all it stood for. Even in the complete seclusion that this area would bring, Big Brother was always watching. Saying that you were safe would be a lie. But while we get further away I start to feel better.“Here we are,” I said confidently, after all, were definitely at the destination I wanted. Winston hear my words but did not move closer, instead he quietly looked around the area. It would have been fascinating to watch if not for the limited time that we had. “I didn’t want to say anything in the lane,” I went on, “in case there’s a mike there. I don’t suppose there is, but there could be. There’s always the chance that one of those swine recognizing your voice. We’re all right here.” I finished, waiting for his answer, he still did not approach me.When he next spoke I feared that he might not understand, “We’re all right here?” It might have been a mistake coming here if all he was going to do was repeat my words. But I decided I might as well give him a chance, “Yes. Look at the trees.” I explained that there wasn’t room to hide a mike and he seemed to warm up. During my explanation he finally picked up whatever courage he had and moved closer to me. I gave him a small smile to show that I was okay with it, then he took my hand.

There aren’t a whole bunch of obvious allusions (Or things mentioned from other places) but I found a few big enough to share. For example, the mention of Julius Caesar and Charlemagne directly. I found the quote interesting because of this. “Comrade Ogilvy, who had never existed in the present, now existed in the past, and when once the act of forgery was forgotten, he would exist just as authentically, and upon the same evidence, as Charlemagne or Julius Caesar.” (47-48) (The link is to a site explaining mainly about the proles and rome). There’s also the “proles” referencing the proletariat which is the lowest class of citizens in rome. Then another allusion is Shakespeare in the quote “The whole literature of the past will have been destroyed. Chaucer, Shakespeare…” (47) I haven’t found any real sites about this quote but it’s pretty self explanatory. Everything in this world is being translated to “Newspeak” which would change the literature. These are the main allusions in 1984 that I’ve found that people would recognize.

Olivia and Tara

My favorite music (the more important member of this group) is acoustic which I realize isn’t really a genre but I tend to like acoustic covers more than the original.

Olivia has no taste and just listens to whatever garbage she happens to come across.

“Hard rap, like with non-stop cursing” – Olivia, 2019

“I don’t care.” – Tara, 3076

I like rats, she likes soccer, boom.

The website linked will expand your mind and allow you to see farther than you have ever seen.

This one is even better.

The book starts out by describing where the main character, Winston, is. It describes it with words like, “Bright cold day… vile wind… swirl of gritty dust.” (5, Orwell) The book really ‘captures’ you to be like you’re with Winston. Then it goes on to describe a poster with a man named “Big Brother” and the words “Big Brother is Watching You.” With Big Brother is the Thought Police and the Ministry of Truth. They’re trying to change English (Oldspeak) to a new language, “Newspeak.”  It is basically English just in summarized wording. If you get caught writing anything, you’re supposed to be arrested or ‘disappeared.’ If you get too ‘advanced’ or you know too much you will likely be taken away and forgotten about. Or even if you think about certain things, the Thought Police will come and (like before) take you away.

The main idea of this book is that Stanley lives in a world that which almost everything is controlled. Like the Thought Police always knowing what you think or knowing what you write. With Stanley breaking the rules by writing a diary and starting a story knowing that he will get caught is a little intriguing making you want to know if he’ll get caught. I personally think that this book is an interesting topic. But there isn’t much action to keep you reading. But of course i’m going to finish and see what happens.

1984 has 245 pages and I need to read it all by April 26. I’m going to try and read about 40-50 pages each reading day (we have about 4-5 in class). If I can’t do that then I need to start reading at home. This is my plan to read the book by the 26.

I decided to choose this book over the others because I liked the “Negative Utopia” idea. I haven’t heard of Utopias being “negative.” This is the main part that interested me but, there was also the style of me being introduced to the book (Beginning). It started with describing “Big Brother” which was actually interesting. The idea of the people always being watched sounded intriguing. These are the main reasons of why I decided to choose this book.