George Orwell Books

In a society that has eliminated many imbalances, surplus goods, and even class struggle, there are bound to be deviates; Winston Smith is one of those. He starts out, due to his inability to doublethink, with thoughtcrime. This is in a society that believes a thought is as real as the deed. Eventually he graduates through a series of misdemeanors to illicit sex and even plans to overthrow the very government that took him in as an orphan.
If he gets caught, he will be sent to the "Ministry of Love" where they have a record of 100% cures for this sort of insanity. They will even forgive his past indiscretions.

Be sure to watch the three different movies made from this book:
1984 (1954) Peter Cushing is Winston Smith
1984 (1956) Edmond O'Brien is Winston Smith
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) John Hurt is Winston smith

1984

1984 is extremely influential on the way we as a society label each other and our government with names such as "Big Brother" Orwellian and such. These names like calling someone a Nazi allow us to appear to argue but actually allow us to dodge the real issues. This is fairly ironic considering the origin of such terms. Basically 1984 is set in London in the distopian future. Orwell wrote it in response to Stalin's corrupting the ideals of Socialism. He was a socialist and so was really bothered by that failure.

The plot to 1984 isn't so important as the setting. Basically the story follows Winston Smith. Smith harbors less than perfect views of his environment, for which he will one day be arrested regardless of his actions. Not loving the government (thought crime) is the only crime that is recognized. Hidden cameras and microphones are omnipresent in the city, included mandatory TVs which can't be turned off, only show a single government station and contain hidden cameras through which "thought police" may monitor what is in front of the TV at any time. Social interaction doesn't exist, since that would be considered weird and therefore criminal.

There are three classes of people in London: Inner Party members, Party members like Winston and the proletariate, who aren't watched so closely because they aren't considered human. In this world Winston goes from merely not liking the government to engaging in unusual behavior. He starts by buying decorative antiques at a proletariate shop and progresses to having a girl friend, who he can only meet with in remote country side settings on account of social interaction is not allowed by the government. It is obvious to him that he will one day be taken to the Ministry of Love, a windowless building which handles law enforcement, and never fails at getting thought criminals to love the government.

The novel is always dark. No happy beginning, no happy middle and no happy ending. Still it is important to read it before throwing around terms like "Orwellian" It has been so influential on society that it is required reading - if you want to pass your tenth grade English. Failing to read is a sign of insurgence against the government.

1984 is extremely influential on the way we as a society label each other and our government with names such as "Big Brother" Orwellian and such. These names like calling someone a Nazi allow us to appear to argue but actually allow us to dodge the real issues. This is fairly ironic considering the origin of such terms. Basically 1984 is set in London in the distopian future. Orwell wrote it in response to Stalin's corrupting the ideals of Socialism. He was a socialist and so was really bothered by that failure.

The plot to 1984 isn't so important as the setting. Basically the story follows Winston Smith. Smith harbors less than perfect views of his environment, for which he will one day be arrested regardless of his actions. Not loving the government (thought crime) is the only crime that is recognized. Hidden cameras and microphones are omnipresent in the city, included mandatory TVs which can't be turned off, only show a single government station and contain hidden cameras through which "thought police" may monitor what is in front of the TV at any time. Social interaction doesn't exist, since that would be considered weird and therefore criminal.

There are three classes of people in London: Inner Party members, Party members like Winston and the proletariate, who aren't watched so closely because they aren't considered human. In this world Winston goes from merely not liking the government to engaging in unusual behavior. He starts by buying decorative antiques at a proletariate shop and progresses to having a girl friend, who he can only meet with in remote country side settings on account of social interaction is not allowed by the government. It is obvious to him that he will one day be taken to the Ministry of Love, a windowless building which handles law enforcement, and never fails at getting thought criminals to love the government.

The novel is always dark. No happy beginning, no happy middle and no happy ending. Still it is important to read it before throwing around terms like "Orwellian" It has been so influential on society that it is required reading - if you want to pass your tenth grade English. Failing to read is a sign of insurgence against the government.

In a society that has eliminated many imbalances, surplus goods, and even class struggle, there are bound to be deviates; Winston Smith is one of those. He starts out, due to his inability to doublethink, with thoughtcrime. This is in a society that believes a thought is as real as the deed. Eventually he graduates through a series of misdemeanors to illicit sex and even plans to overthrow the very government that took him in as an orphan.
If he gets caught, he will be sent to the "Ministry of Love" where they have a record of 100% cures for this sort of insanity. They will even forgive his past indiscretions.

Be sure to watch the three different movies made from this book:
1984 (1954) Peter Cushing is Winston Smith
1984 (1956) Edmond O'Brien is Winston Smith
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) John Hurt is Winston smith

1984 Actors: Edmond O'Brien, Jan Sterling

In a society that has eliminated many imbalances, surplus goods, and even class struggle, there are bound to be deviates; Winston Smith is one of those. He starts out, due to his inability to doublethink, with thoughtcrime. This is in a society that believes a thought is as real as the deed. Eventually he graduates through a series of misdemeanors to illicit sex and even plans to overthrow the very government that took him in as an orphan.
If he gets caught, he will be sent to the "Ministry of Love" where they have a record of 100% cures for this sort of insanity. They will even forgive his past indiscretions.

Be sure to watch the three different movies made from this book:
1984 (1954) Peter Cushing is Winston Smith
1984 (1956) Edmond O'Brien is Winston Smith
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) John Hurt is Winston smith

A fairy tale or a nightmare? It all began with a dream by Major, a Middle White boar, of equality, and freedom from oppression. Maybe not in our life comrade, but eventually.

The dream brings a song. Intolerable conditions lead to revolution. As time passes things change; not exactly as planned.

There are two striking parts to this tale that stand out. First when Boxer is sent to the hospital and Benjamin reads the side of the van "Horse Slaughterer." Secondly there was a party in the farm house as the pigs were playing cards with the men, two aces of spades showed up. An argument ensues. Then a realization was drawn by the creatures outside looking in as they "...looked from pig to man, and man to pig, and from pig to man again..."

"ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS" is the Principle of Animalism - an allegorical term for Soviet Bolshevism, which had actually spread throughout Russia during the 20th century and haunted its various peoples and regions in the name of Socialism. The author, born in India of English parents, was a socialist and wrote this profound piece of political satire with the aim of destroying the Soviet myth. George Orwell wanted to show that the Soviets were using the rhetoric of socialism to veil their vicious statism and that the Soviets were not at all socialist, despite their claims that they were. One senses that if Orwell were alive today, he would write an Animal Farm that could strip away the myth from Tony Blair and George Bush doing war in the name of freedom when they are actually waging state terrorism and killing tens of thousands of civilians. Cutting through what Orwell would later term "Doublespeak" in another book (1984) is Orwell's aim.

The tale begins by introducing old Major, a talking boar who describes the horrible conditions all animals live under at Manor Farm. Major dreams of a socialist-type revolution where the "Man" can be overthrown by the animals: "Only get rid of Man" and everything would be peaceful for the animals. Major dies but the other animals are left inspired.

Their opportunity arises when the Man goes on a drinking binge and neglects the feeding of the farm animals. Starving, they must act and action is inspired by a combination of remembrance of Major and of dire straits; the animals take over the farm. Manor Farm is renamed Animal Farm. So far this is an allegorical retelling of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia when the starving peasants took control of the state from the decadent ruling class. The remaining events in the story mirror events that actually happened in Russia under Soviet rule. In the end, the pigs are no different from the Man.

Historically, this has been the fate of all revolutions. Crafty word-pushers see that seizing control of the state is a valuable prize because it results in a cudgel beneficial to whoever wields it to the detriment of those it is wielded against.

I miss Orwell. I wish he were around today to write about the British sleeper cell in Washington, District of Criminals that has gotten us Yanks to provide the brawn to British empire in all those quagmires created by the British - Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, etc. The Anglo-American wordpushers are creating a world as oppressive as Adolf Hitler's with no end to deaths and destruction being visited upon innocent peoples whose misfortune is to live atop oil fields.

I recently read "Animal Farm" with my Sophomore English class. Whereas my students had the Signet version of the novella (the only one available in the school's Book Room), I trotted out my hardbound 50th Anniversary edition (the version I am reviewing) and read from it, mainly because it had larger text size than the students' paperbacks.

I'm not going to get too much into the plot of "Animal Farm" as I believe if you're reading this review it's to decide WHICH VERSION of the novella is best. The book deals with the revolt and eventual takeover of an English farm by farm animals who viewed themselves as being mistreated by their human masters. Not only is "Animal Farm" an allegory of the Russian Revolution, it teaches very valuable lessons of how those in power operate (and manipulate the populace) to stay in power. Don't feel that this book is trapped in time, as many of my students made connections with the events from the story with what they see on the news today (Iraq, social injustice, political doublespeak, etc.).

Orwell's narrative is an excellent story (though I think his "1984" is the better work) and is the same here, as in other versions. So why buy this PARTICULAR version? Quite simply, for Steadman's artwork which added so much to the story. His illustrations are not "classically" beautiful, but have a pop-art feel to them that is a perfect complement to Orwell's writing. The book is beautifully rendered and is IMO well worth the extra money.

What this version lacks that other versions offer is editorial commentary; there are no essays about the significance of Orwell's work or biography of his life at the beginnning of the book. However, the editors do include Orwell's proposed Preface to the original edition of "Animal Farm" as well as the Preface to the Ukranian edition (and "No, it's not written in Ukranian"). Both are appendices at the end of the novella; both are free of extraneous commentary allowing the Reader to make up his/her own mind about the written words (which is what Orwell would have us do, right?).

Beautiful bookmaking. A fitting tribute to a modern classic.

This book sets the standard for political and social satire. It was required reading when I was in high school and in my opinion one of the best books ever written. However, like all other books of social satire, you must know something of history to appreciate it.
The setting is a farm where the animals are mistreated, so they revolt against their human owners and take control of the farm. In the initial joy of apparent liberation, the animals work together in a communal effort and manage to harvest more grain than ever before. The pigs emerge as the leaders, directing everyone else but apparently under the guise of "All animals are equal." They pledge to never deal with the dangerous and untrustworthy humans again, except in a manner that benefits all animals on the farm. No longer will animals be slaughtered for human food or gain and they will continue to share the produce, "To each according to his needs."
The first crack in this occurs when the udders of the dairy cows are full and they need to be milked. Since their calves have been sold, the pigs manage to milk them and the milk just sits there. The pigs assure the others that they will do something with it, and later it becomes clear that they have consumed it. Boxer is the strong work horse who now works even harder.
It does not take long before the pigs take total control of the farm, stomping all opposition, gently at first but it is not long before it becomes brutal and unyielding. At the end, Boxer works himself to death and he is sold off to be made into dog food and glue.
The book is a satire on the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, where Lenin and his gang of revolutionaries overthrew the Tsarist regime. After that, they murdered Tsar Nicholas and all his family and then established a dictator ship far more brutal than that of the Tsar. If you are not aware of this, then the book will make very little sense to you. I have read this book at least five times in my life and it is a pleasure each time. This is a masterpiece that should be read by everyone, however, not without some assistance so that they know the target of the satire.

A fairy tale or a nightmare? It all began with a dream by Major, a Middle White boar, of equality, and freedom from oppression. Maybe not in our life comrade, but eventually.

The dream brings a song. Intolerable conditions lead to revolution. As time passes things change; not exactly as planned.

There are two striking parts to this tale that stand out. First when Boxer is sent to the hospital and Benjamin reads the side of the van "Horse Slaughterer." Secondly there was a party in the farm house as the pigs were playing cards with the men, two aces of spades showed up. An argument ensues. Then a realization was drawn by the creatures outside looking in as they "...looked from pig to man, and man to pig, and from pig to man again..."