vladislav-8007

What did I think...the first thought that popped in my head after I finished the last page was "Well that was f-ing depressing" And it was - anything that takes such a dystopian view of the world, offers really no hope, at least within the context of the story. I really found fascinating how Orwell created a whole language (Newspeak) that went way beyond the term "doublethink" - it says something about the importance of language as a form of control in society. The copy we have includes an Afterword (written in 1961) and I'm glad I took the time to read it. It's easy to draw parallels to the totalitarian regimes we know, but the afterword also connects 1984 to the pursuit of material things, corporate life and man vs. machine. I think many people say "It's just like 1984" and leap immediately to government or the state. But I think it's more relevant to draw parallels to that which influences the state. I felt the driving concept was really the pursuit of power as an end, not necessarily the means, and I would argue that occurs largely outside of (or surrounds) the state.

2022-10-29 03:34