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librarymouse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
1984 almost makes the unwavering patriotism/belief in a singular person/undefined political ideology, that some of my older family members feel understandable. To see the hero worship for an untouchable ideal that contradicts itself and causes harm without room for critique or progress is painfully relatable for me as an American reader in 2022. I think that crushing dread that there may never be a better world than the one you currently live in with all of its flaws and hardships has been one of the few, traumatic, incorporeal heirlooms that's been passed down for generations.
I was genuinely convinced that Winston's fear of rats was going to have stemmed from his baby sister being eaten by them. The repeated mentions of proll women not leaving babies unattended for fear they be eaten by rats combined with the thing Winston had been blocking out, the poverty his family lived in in his early childhood, and his mother and sister's disappearance made that thought a tangible possibility.
Winston's character development before his time in prison was quite interesting. Initially, he was internally quite violent and held a deep hatred for the people around him, especially the women. His dreams of bashing in Julia's skull and his distaste for his neighbor's wife mixed with his misogynist internal monologue made Winston an intensely unlikable character for the first part of the book. Julia's complacency with party rules and regulations so long as they didn't interfere with her sex life, her zealously performed orthodoxy that she performed fluidly and without thought made her similarly unlikable at the beginning. Their pre-prison development made them into almost beautiful people, in terms of personality. They were both developing forms of self expression and learning to appreciate the small joys afforded to the prolls that their stations did not allow. Winston's longing for familial past he could barely remember and Julia's desire to break the rules slowly morphed into a tentatively explored new way of life and love that pulled from both the pre-party way of life and engsoc orthodoxy. The total destruction of their sense of selves during and after their time in prison was upsetting to read, but gave the book a satisfying ending. Winston's breaking point being something so benign and mortal as rats humanized him in such a way that it felt like the culmination of his characterization throughout the book. To have the thing that shatters his psyche be something so ingrained into him that all the mind tricks and double think in the world couldn't erase was weirdly oxymoronic. O'Brien's promise was that they would want to confess and die for the party and the love of big brother before they would be killed, and Winston's descent into truly believing party orthodoxy happened in a way that is recognizable in the real world in the reactions of people with zealous, deeply held belief systems.
I'm glad I didn't read this book in high school. I had too much optimism for the fate of the world then. It would have gone right over my head.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Police brutality, and Classism
Minor: Antisemitism
fujo_cat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Stalking, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
theseasoul's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Sexual content and Torture
Moderate: Slavery and Suicide
Minor: Vomit
alyssadavis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
“We are different from the oligarchies of the past in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just around the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power.”
Graphic: Physical abuse and Torture
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, and War
Minor: Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Death of parent
f18's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Child death, Fatphobia, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
descriptions of hangings, child labor, tooth trauma,deadeye's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Excrement, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
peachtea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Blood, Excrement, and Vomit
morgemort's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
accio_gays's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Antisemitism, Abandonment, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Slavery, Vomit, Grief, and Alcohol
hibou's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
kojarzycie te książki, które was połykają, potem wypluwają, połykają po raz drugi i trawią was aż w końcu czujecie się zdruzgotani? to jest jedna z takich książek
wizja takie antyutopijnego świata jest przerażająca, ale tak świetnie opisana że wydaje się jak najbardziej prawdziwa
kiedy nauczycielka historii pożyczyła mi tę książkę, to myślałem, że to będzie kapitalistyczna propaganda
oj, jak ja się myliłem
książka porusza bardzo ważne tematy, jest napisana przecudownie
ja pochłonąłem ostatnią jej część w jednym siedzeniu, a podczas punktu kulminacyjnego (jeżeli przeczytał*ś książkę, to wiesz o jaką sytuację chodzi) dosłownie dygotały mi ręce
bez wątpienia lektura uświamiadająca wiele spraw i zmieniająca pogląd na wiele spraw
5⭐ /5
ZDECYDOWANIE POLECAM
chociaż boję się, że ta książka straci na znaczeniu, bo stała się lekturą szkolną ;///
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, and Gaslighting
Minor: Cursing, Vomit, Alcohol, and War