L'azione si svolge in un futuro prossimo del mondo (l'anno 1984) in cui il potere si concentra in tre immensi superstati: Oceania, Eurasia ed Estasia. Al vertice del potere politico in Oceania c'è il Grande Fratello, onnisciente e infallibile, che nessuno ha visto di persona ma di cui ovunque sono visibili grandi manifesti. Il Ministero della Verità, nel quale lavora il personaggio principale, Smith, ha il compito di censurare libri e giornali non in linea con la politica ufficiale, di alterare la storia e di ridurre le possibilità espressive della lingua. Per quanto sia tenuto sotto controllo da telecamere, Smith comincia a condurre un'esistenza sovversiva. Scritto nel 1949, il libro è considerato una delle più lucide rappresentazioni del totalitarismo.
Während die ersten beiden Teile von Nineteen Eighty-Four noch äußerst spannend das Überleben und den Kampf gegen einen fiktiven diktatorischen Überwachungsstaat zeigen, verliert sich die Geschichte im dritten Teil ausschließlich in den brutalen Foltermethoden, die der Protagonist nach seiner Verhaftung über sich ergehen lassen muss. Wer nicht aufpasst, könnte meinen, dass es sich hier um eine Kritik am Sozialismus handelt, aber George Orwell war selbst bekennender Sozialist und kritisiert eher den Autoritarismus.
Content warning
Second paragraph details my opinion on the ending.
It's amazing how much of this book still can be compared to our current situations across multiple countries. The constant surveillance part is still a scary threat we live with today.
1984 gave me the same feeling I've had reading other not-so-happy books where the climax and falling action are pulling you through the pages because you don't know how the author is going to write the character out of the situation. And then the ending finally leaves you feeling underwhelmed and defeated. It's definitely a book you need to sit and think with. I'd encourage anyone who read this in high school give it a second read as an adult with more life experience to draw experience from.
Absolutely excellent book, a must read for everyone in my opinion.
It does get a little dry at certain parts, but picks right back up. It is entirely worth pushing through.
The book expresses an insanely scary, yet completely plausible future of the world, or more likely certain places. Some places around the world share many similar core values with the world of 1984, which furthermore helps strengthen the fearful possibility.
1984 is a great fusion of non-fiction, history, futurism, and fiction in a dystopian world ruled by people who quite literally want nothing more than power, pure, unadulterated power. They will do anything to get it, and do anything to keep it. This is all done in a fictional world, but sometimes it really feels like you're reading non-fiction, due to how completely possible the world created is. Many values shown in the book, you hear and see about …
Absolutely excellent book, a must read for everyone in my opinion.
It does get a little dry at certain parts, but picks right back up. It is entirely worth pushing through.
The book expresses an insanely scary, yet completely plausible future of the world, or more likely certain places. Some places around the world share many similar core values with the world of 1984, which furthermore helps strengthen the fearful possibility.
1984 is a great fusion of non-fiction, history, futurism, and fiction in a dystopian world ruled by people who quite literally want nothing more than power, pure, unadulterated power. They will do anything to get it, and do anything to keep it. This is all done in a fictional world, but sometimes it really feels like you're reading non-fiction, due to how completely possible the world created is. Many values shown in the book, you hear and see about everyday in many aspects, especially politically. Some places in the world share similar structure and values to that of the powerful system in 1984. It strikes fear in the reader due to the relate-ability, and possibilities presented within the world of 1984. Furthermore, despite this book being written in 1949, and feels even more relevant now than ever before.
