“If you cannot write well, you cannot think well, and if you cannot think well, others will do you thinking for you.” –George Orwell. That is the quote written above my English 110 syllabus. One of the first days of this class our instructor, engaged in communicating about this quote, and this man. After explaining the quote, she asked the audience, something in the neighborhood of what did this man write? A few seconds after the final words spilled out of her mouth, one of my peers in the back answered with, “Animal Farm.” The name George Orwell sounded so horribly familiar to me, and once “Animal Farm” left the air and the instructor said “What else”. I held the key that unlocked Pandora’s Box. My hand leaped forward and, then “Nineteen Eighty-Four”, flew from my lips and hung in the. Now not too sure on the answer I gazed in to her eyes hoping not to be embarrassed by failure. A probably noticeable, sigh of relief sprang fourth once conformation of my answer occurred.
Though I recognized the book’s existence, ignorance surrounded all of my perception of its content. So soon after this event took place, of course inquiring of the content, had been pure Jake. Like all humans in today’s society the internet snapped into my mind when research crossed the brain. After the constant drilling of information that repeated on just about every webpage related to this book I knew the option of not reading this book, left the table. Since I am a college kid I chose to approach the situation the free way. The ICC library (which is wonderful by the way) being my first, and only stop in obtaining this wonderful piece of literature, I’m sure is not a shock to anyone.
I am not finished with the book yet, but I am close. I am far enough in the book to inform other’s to the same clichés that informed me, it is amazing. I believe the book to be around 60 years old, and yet readers of the book can still relate to it, and enjoy it just as our fathers, and grandfathers had. Failure to read this book is foolish.
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Wait until you get to the end scenes with Winston. Holy cow. I can't wait to talk to you about this.
ReplyDeleteBTW, have you read Ayn Rand? (The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged?)
So I totally read that book and I liked parts of it and others...really freaked me out or bored me. However, some were very interesting and I enjoyed reading about their thoughts on how the future (1984) was going to be like. The thought of "Big Brother" is a very scary one and I have to admit that it didn't startle me until I watched a few segments from the movie in my high school lit. class. To think that something is watching you at all times and even that the "thought police" monitors your thoughts...very eerie! The ending kind of let me down personally although I know that some really loved it! Let me know that you think about that part! :)
ReplyDeleteI loved 1984! Any book that requires a parent's permission has to be cool, though that may have just been because my school was really strict on what was in books. No other book that I have ever read has made me think as much about what our government is capable of and how private our "private" lives really are. The book was just one of a couple that were available in lit circles, so it only ended up being me and like 3 other people reading it which made discussions a lot more effective. After we were done, we made a movie about the ending scene (I won't give away what it was about) but it was awesome.
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