I am currently reading the book 1984 by George Orwell.
I think that the call to adventure for Winston, the protagonist of 1984, is when he first met Julia. Although she doesn't send him on some quest to vanquish evil, she does bring him into a world that is new to him. Winston and Julia fell in love and decided to secretly try to be together. Winston's wife, Katharine had disappeared years before but wasn't confirmed dead by the Party (although it is very likely that she was). It would be against the Party's rules for him to be with any one else. Winston and Julia being together was very risky but Winston seems to have decided not to return to his ordinary world. In a way them being together was a way for them both to take a stand against the Party's rules. Both of them dislike the Party and believe that the world could and should be in a better state than it is, so my best guess is that later in the book they will end up joining some kind of resistance against the Party.
"Both of them knew-in a way, it was never out of their minds- that what was now happening could not last long." from George Orwell's 1984
Thursday, 15 December 2011
Thursday, 8 December 2011
The Ordinary World
I am currently reading the book 1984 by George Orwell.
The ordinary world for the main character Winston is one that to us wouldn't seem very ordinary, although it is still set on our planet. Winston's world is in what was supposed to be the future (1984 was in the future when this book was written). The world in which Winston lives isn't very nice compared to ours. In the "future" the whole world is run by "the Party" which governs in similar ways to a dictatorship. Almost everything in this world is in bad or unsanitary conditions, people don't have very many things(including food), and people will be killed if they are bad. Basically the world of 1984 where Winston lives is not a very fun place. The citizens, a lot of which are poor, are only allowed very small rations of food and other resources. To make it worse the food they are allowed is generally quite bad and gross. Unlike in much of our modern world criminals will be hung in front of crowds as punishment for small crimes, and some people that do and say things that the Party doesn't like disappear and no one knows what happens to them. Life is rough in this world and the Party makes really wants to keep it this way by having everyone on camera at all times to keep people in line. I bet you might be wondering how the world we know of today could have became such a mess. According to 1984 there was a big revolution that took place before Winston was even born where the party took over and the world turned into the mess that the book is set in. It's kind of scary to think that many parts of the world are as bad or worse as the world of 1984.
"Everything faded into mist. The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became true."
From George Orwell's 1984, this quote is talking about how the Party has erased what once was and made citizens believe that the current world in 1984 was better.
The ordinary world for the main character Winston is one that to us wouldn't seem very ordinary, although it is still set on our planet. Winston's world is in what was supposed to be the future (1984 was in the future when this book was written). The world in which Winston lives isn't very nice compared to ours. In the "future" the whole world is run by "the Party" which governs in similar ways to a dictatorship. Almost everything in this world is in bad or unsanitary conditions, people don't have very many things(including food), and people will be killed if they are bad. Basically the world of 1984 where Winston lives is not a very fun place. The citizens, a lot of which are poor, are only allowed very small rations of food and other resources. To make it worse the food they are allowed is generally quite bad and gross. Unlike in much of our modern world criminals will be hung in front of crowds as punishment for small crimes, and some people that do and say things that the Party doesn't like disappear and no one knows what happens to them. Life is rough in this world and the Party makes really wants to keep it this way by having everyone on camera at all times to keep people in line. I bet you might be wondering how the world we know of today could have became such a mess. According to 1984 there was a big revolution that took place before Winston was even born where the party took over and the world turned into the mess that the book is set in. It's kind of scary to think that many parts of the world are as bad or worse as the world of 1984.
"Everything faded into mist. The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became true."
From George Orwell's 1984, this quote is talking about how the Party has erased what once was and made citizens believe that the current world in 1984 was better.
Eye-of-sauron.jpglotr.wikia.com
Sauron's eye from the lord of the rings is always watching just like the Party
Thursday, 1 December 2011
1984 and the future
I am currently reading the book 1984 by George Orwell.
Is the future shown in 1984 a possible one?
1984 tells the story of a horrible yet possible future, some describe it as a "negative utopia". Being a very old book, the story is set in what the character believes to be the year 1984 which is set a few decades after the book was written. The world in 1984 is, as the whole "negative utopia" thing would suggest, not a very nice place to live. The world is split into 3 areas: Oceania, Eurasia, and East-asia. According to the main character, Winston, there is always some kind of war going on between them. Everything in 1984 is being controlled by "the party" which is like a huge government party that is really a lot like a dictatorship. If any body is talking bad about the party, acting unusual, or doing any thing that the Party considers to be wrong that person will "disappear". How do they know when somebody is doing something they don't like you ask? At all times, the Party is watching everybody with cameras to try and catch people that need to be dealt with. The party also controls how many things people are allowed and there often isn't enough resources for every one to live well.
So as I was saying at the beginning of this blog, is this a possible future? Well, in London and some other British cities practically every inch of the city is on camera at all times, so that would be possible. As everyone knows there are always wars going on between countries similar to how the 3 regions 1984 are. A lot of countries are communist even today and heavily limit how much citizens are allowed. A lot of these communist countries will even make people "vanish" like the Party if they are doing things that aren't allowed.
I hate to say it but unfortunately the future shown in 1984 seems indeed possible to me, let's just hope it never happens.
Is the future shown in 1984 a possible one?
1984 tells the story of a horrible yet possible future, some describe it as a "negative utopia". Being a very old book, the story is set in what the character believes to be the year 1984 which is set a few decades after the book was written. The world in 1984 is, as the whole "negative utopia" thing would suggest, not a very nice place to live. The world is split into 3 areas: Oceania, Eurasia, and East-asia. According to the main character, Winston, there is always some kind of war going on between them. Everything in 1984 is being controlled by "the party" which is like a huge government party that is really a lot like a dictatorship. If any body is talking bad about the party, acting unusual, or doing any thing that the Party considers to be wrong that person will "disappear". How do they know when somebody is doing something they don't like you ask? At all times, the Party is watching everybody with cameras to try and catch people that need to be dealt with. The party also controls how many things people are allowed and there often isn't enough resources for every one to live well.
So as I was saying at the beginning of this blog, is this a possible future? Well, in London and some other British cities practically every inch of the city is on camera at all times, so that would be possible. As everyone knows there are always wars going on between countries similar to how the 3 regions 1984 are. A lot of countries are communist even today and heavily limit how much citizens are allowed. A lot of these communist countries will even make people "vanish" like the Party if they are doing things that aren't allowed.
I hate to say it but unfortunately the future shown in 1984 seems indeed possible to me, let's just hope it never happens.
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