I have to be honest, I was taken aback by the question. I took notes on the book last year and collated them for reference. I read the book a second time this year on both paperback and audiobook to write the summaries. It was a lot of work. My high school English teachers NEVER saw this much work.
I actually read this book for the first time this year. Your entries in this series were a little bit ahead of where I was so I decided to wait until I fully finished the book to start reading them. I agree that reading this book as an adult helped all of it register on multiple levels. I enjoyed the world building and how we learned of it through conversations, thoughts and descriptions. It was chilling to see how many things depicted here are happening today in a different way - or, the same way depending on who you ask.
Thanks for coming back to read my entries. It’s a fascinating and grim landscape. I kept wondering how stark the divide would be between Party members and proles. Where does healthcare fit in? Fascinating indeed.
I think changes have happened in increments. I first got a glimpse with the Tea Party in maybe the early 2000s. Everyone laughed at them but they became the progenitors of the modern Republican Party. We underestimated their resolve and how firmly they believed lies. I look at some folks today and can’t help but suspect some brand of doublethink. “How can they tout family values and not fund maternity leave or early educations?!” It’s about control. That’s it. Both conflict and are intentionally paired.
Absolutely. There are elements of the Party’s totalitarian regime in different forms in modern life. Being able to bring them all together is the challenge but each decade and each generation brings the vision closer.
It’s been years since I read 1984 but I remember the feeling of the world Orwell painted – it freaked me out, but in a “never here” way. Your reread & thoughts are timely because I do believe truth, objective truth, is harder to establish now.
What we took on faith doesn’t seem to exist (maybe it never did?). And, horrible acts, even when admitted to, now eschew shame. I’d like to believe, given the choice, people are naturally good, naturally protective but the last few years I’ve seen people of faith fall for charlatans.
I think we are just better informed and more connected to parts of the world. Whereas, we could dilute ourselves in thinking a conflict was far away, now it’s in your feed. Oddly enough, local news has been slowly dying over decades. We lose a discerning eye with those big outlets and trust their credibility. They come in strong but critical pieces are sometimes missing. Add to that being owned by the same people means there is an incentive to present a particular narrative. The local journalist has no such loyalty to a boss.
What is true becomes open to interpretation and technically true under particular circumstances given a set of rules. Feels like arguing with sleazy defense attorneys. Most cannot match wits (and shouldn’t have to) with truth-benders; we need those same local news journalists to break it down. People present a truth they want you to believe.
When Winston is tasked with rectifying media, I see it as derivative of what goes on now, which is obfuscating the truth or making it subject to conditions.
It’s very hard to be optimistic but I think we learn a lot about where we don’t want to be from dystopias. We learn to recognize the signs of it forming and try to stop it, which is one bit of power we have.
I read 1984 many years ago and reading your notes now shocked me. I’m not sure if it’s reading the synthesized version of the book or the way you present it, but it’s eerily similar to the communist world in which I grew up. I have a memory from when I was 5 years old. We lived on the ground floor of an apartment building. It was summer and I was sitting in the kitchen with my mother. The kitchen window was open to the alley on which people walked. Out of the blue I asked my mother: ‘Who is this Ceausescu you’re always talking about?’ I will never forget the fear on her face. In one sweep she shut the window close, came to me and said: ‘Never ever ask me this question again! Do you understand? You’ll have us put in jail’.
My parents never talked about the dictator in front of me again after that day.
I didn’t understand it as a child but I grew up seeing my parents afraid and cautious. Looking back as an adult I think that they managed to act so normal despite the circumstances. But it leaves you with this feeling that beneath the veneer of reality there’s another more sinister reality lurking its ugly head.
You know, we see communism in very simplistic ways in America and don’t understand that when governments apply it, there are other facets that accompany the basic ideology. We don’t see this part.
Veneers are often crafted so well too. Imagine the amount of people tasked with maintaining it.
I'm assuming you didn't use AI to do these summaries?
😭😭 Are you kidding me?? No.
Great to hear, Chevanne! A lot of people are taking the easy option.
I have to be honest, I was taken aback by the question. I took notes on the book last year and collated them for reference. I read the book a second time this year on both paperback and audiobook to write the summaries. It was a lot of work. My high school English teachers NEVER saw this much work.
I actually read this book for the first time this year. Your entries in this series were a little bit ahead of where I was so I decided to wait until I fully finished the book to start reading them. I agree that reading this book as an adult helped all of it register on multiple levels. I enjoyed the world building and how we learned of it through conversations, thoughts and descriptions. It was chilling to see how many things depicted here are happening today in a different way - or, the same way depending on who you ask.
Thanks for coming back to read my entries. It’s a fascinating and grim landscape. I kept wondering how stark the divide would be between Party members and proles. Where does healthcare fit in? Fascinating indeed.
I think changes have happened in increments. I first got a glimpse with the Tea Party in maybe the early 2000s. Everyone laughed at them but they became the progenitors of the modern Republican Party. We underestimated their resolve and how firmly they believed lies. I look at some folks today and can’t help but suspect some brand of doublethink. “How can they tout family values and not fund maternity leave or early educations?!” It’s about control. That’s it. Both conflict and are intentionally paired.
The true horror is that for some this book is not a problem but a blueprint. An aspirational one.
Absolutely. There are elements of the Party’s totalitarian regime in different forms in modern life. Being able to bring them all together is the challenge but each decade and each generation brings the vision closer.
It’s been years since I read 1984 but I remember the feeling of the world Orwell painted – it freaked me out, but in a “never here” way. Your reread & thoughts are timely because I do believe truth, objective truth, is harder to establish now.
What we took on faith doesn’t seem to exist (maybe it never did?). And, horrible acts, even when admitted to, now eschew shame. I’d like to believe, given the choice, people are naturally good, naturally protective but the last few years I’ve seen people of faith fall for charlatans.
It’s hard out there for an optimist.
I think we are just better informed and more connected to parts of the world. Whereas, we could dilute ourselves in thinking a conflict was far away, now it’s in your feed. Oddly enough, local news has been slowly dying over decades. We lose a discerning eye with those big outlets and trust their credibility. They come in strong but critical pieces are sometimes missing. Add to that being owned by the same people means there is an incentive to present a particular narrative. The local journalist has no such loyalty to a boss.
What is true becomes open to interpretation and technically true under particular circumstances given a set of rules. Feels like arguing with sleazy defense attorneys. Most cannot match wits (and shouldn’t have to) with truth-benders; we need those same local news journalists to break it down. People present a truth they want you to believe.
When Winston is tasked with rectifying media, I see it as derivative of what goes on now, which is obfuscating the truth or making it subject to conditions.
It’s very hard to be optimistic but I think we learn a lot about where we don’t want to be from dystopias. We learn to recognize the signs of it forming and try to stop it, which is one bit of power we have.
I read 1984 many years ago and reading your notes now shocked me. I’m not sure if it’s reading the synthesized version of the book or the way you present it, but it’s eerily similar to the communist world in which I grew up. I have a memory from when I was 5 years old. We lived on the ground floor of an apartment building. It was summer and I was sitting in the kitchen with my mother. The kitchen window was open to the alley on which people walked. Out of the blue I asked my mother: ‘Who is this Ceausescu you’re always talking about?’ I will never forget the fear on her face. In one sweep she shut the window close, came to me and said: ‘Never ever ask me this question again! Do you understand? You’ll have us put in jail’.
My parents never talked about the dictator in front of me again after that day.
Wow, that’s chilling. Most don’t know that type of fear and like me, can only read about it.
I didn’t understand it as a child but I grew up seeing my parents afraid and cautious. Looking back as an adult I think that they managed to act so normal despite the circumstances. But it leaves you with this feeling that beneath the veneer of reality there’s another more sinister reality lurking its ugly head.
You know, we see communism in very simplistic ways in America and don’t understand that when governments apply it, there are other facets that accompany the basic ideology. We don’t see this part.
Veneers are often crafted so well too. Imagine the amount of people tasked with maintaining it.
Thank you! This is wonderful.
Thank you for your support! Much appreciated. 😊