1984 by George Orwell

Sorry for the delay in my posting this entry! I've been to a conference this past week, and it's been difficult for me to have a quiet moment to myself, despite the length of the novel. However, I managed to finally finish on the airplane!

While waiting in line to board the plane, a man next to me made a very interesting point. For him, social networking sites were too similar to the telescreens that Big Brother uses to watch over his citizens. In fact, he explained to me that it was the terrifying portrayal of privacy invasion that causes his generation to stay away from Facebook, rather than a fear of technology. He told me that he found Orwell's depiction of the world in 1984 to be accurate.

And he's not the only one to think this way. According to the back cover of my copy, Orwell's message is "timelier than ever" and "no one can deny this novel's… power of its admonitions."

I however, disagree. While I understand the importance of the book to our society, and I do believe that the warnings signs are present in today's society, I don't find very many similarities between Orwell's version of the present and our reality. In fact, I rejoice at the fact our lives are quite the opposite of what Orwell prophesied!

We are certainly more capitalistic than we've ever been. Thanks to blogging and i-reporting, it's impossible to falsify information without people noticing. And the internet has made our general population well informed about the government's activities.

While Oceania may have seemed all to probable in 1949, the thing to notice here is that we have managed to avoid our fate. I enjoyed this book not because of how true to life I find it, but because of how different our life has managed to become. Winston's struggle to maintain who he is in the face of conformity and thoughtcrimes is heartbreaking. Despite his knowledge that no change will occur in his lifetime, he begins the story with an idealistic view of how he can inspire rebellion in future generations. While he may not ultimately succeed in his goal, the reader feels that they might be the ones to break the cycle of whatever horrible situation they may find themselves in.

1984 is certainly a very iconic book, and I think it lives up to its reputation. I highly recommend it as an interesting look on the future from a past perspective.

If that makes any sense.