overview
I still don't have my internet access, so I'm typing this on Notepad, then hopefully, will be able to transfer it online. Somehow. I don't remember the suggested schedule for the blog however, so I'm just gonna write about whatever comes to mind. This is just gonna be an overview though (like the title suggests) and I won't go into detail.
Honestly, the novel looked like a real bore to me initially. I'd read another Orwell book when I was much younger, Animal Farm, and couldn't quite grasp the concepts surrounding it. Was probably too young to appreciate how he'd cleverly put History and all its rich politics into the context of a farm, talking pigs and all. But the impression of Orwell as boring had already been formed. So one can imagine the dread when having to actually read 1984. It was a real surprise though, that once I started reading, I found that I couldn't put it down. Yes, the horror! But really, I was pulled into the totalitarian world of Oceania and Airstrip One.
What I found most exciting was probably the concept of another world, another society where the rules are all different. It's like.. a grown-up fairy tale. And I'm very attracted to such fantasy-based sort of stories. Which was probably why I actually kind of enjoyed 'Utopia' even though it was quite dreary, as well as 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' (which, by the way, is really exciting. =)) No surprise that I'm a fan of the Matrix, Star Wars, Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl then.
I digress. Oh yes. I thought it was scary, and thus, somewhat, thrilling, that in Winston's world, your EVERY move was watched. One was practially under surveillance 24/7, what with the creepy telescreens (wonder how they look like). Not only were your physical actions being monitored, there was actually a force to control your THOUGHTS. Here was the very definition of 'freedom' as we know it, challenged to the core. As much as I felt I really wouldn't be living in such a world, I was eager to know more about what would happen to the people living in Oceania. Voyeurism? Nah, just plain curiosity. Heh.
And there's the propaganda issue. All my years studying History, I merely learnt about it, and that it was used by almost all regimes to gain control. But, I swear, 1984 must be the epitome of propaganda. The first time I came to that part in the book about Winston's job in doctoring documents and how they basically twisted the whole truth to fit their agenda, I was so shocked I might've stared at the page for a while. And then the VICTORY brand. And then the non-existent people! Am I going off-tangent? But anyway.
The last thing that really got me thinking was the element of trust in such a world as Winston's. I wondered if you could ever trust anyone. If there was such a thing as true friends. I'd always regarded Julia with suspicion, and still do. I just think it's terribly frightening to know you're almost all alone in the big big world, with no one to turn to.
and love. Does it really exist? I don't think Winston truly loves Julia. I feel she was merely a vehicle for him to express his rebellion. But I shall further that another day.
Alrighty. First post finally up.. The rest are on their way.
posted by ly*anna @ 5:19 PM
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