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Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'
1984 by Humberto Eco, Miguel Temprano García, George Orwell, George Orwell
101 reviews
This book has very outward flaws, the biggest one being Goldstein’s Brotherhood bible just being shoved into the final chapter of Part 2. It felt lazy and would have been far more impactful if it had been edited down rather than constantly repeating the same phrase over and over with different words. It’s completely hamfisted and exhaustive on the reader, and brings the narrative to a complete halt. The characters were also very one-dimensional. Parson, who Winston perceives as a bumbling fool, is probably the most interesting of all the side characters to me. He gets outed by his own daughter, which the evidence for itself seems dubious enough as there is no definite proof that his treachery even happened, and yet he sits beside Winston in the gaol cell beaming with pride. But Orwell tries to paint him as unlikeable by describing him as fat, sweaty, and stupid — which I go more into further on.
The depictions of the characters in general are very of its time. Julia is written to represent moreso the “idea” of women rather than an actual woman. She is far younger and “sexier” than Winston and, despite her sexuality, she settles on him for no real reason given. In the final chapter he almost rejects the possibility of trying to meet with her again, not just because of their equal betrayal of each other, but rather because she is no longer the sweet thing he used to gawk at. He no longer desires her despite having gone through the same physically altering trauma she had gone through. This depiction of Winston’s love interest seems to be more indicative of Orwell’s own views, which loops back to the period in which the novel was written. Even the depiction of the proles was largely influenced by Orwell’s own disgust of the lower class, describing in detail how unattractive the prole women were to Winston with how “wide” they were from pumping out children. To describe the less fortunate as ugly, dirty, stupid, and reduced to just “breeding,” Orwell gives in to the stereotypes that are propped up by the higher class of the real world. There are also insensitive descriptions of non-white people, particularly bad with the seldom Asian characters that are only mentioned in the few paragraphs they are included in.
My only regrets with this book are that I wish I had read this sooner. At my age now, I have become jaded and cynical towards the world. I was apathetic that the characters feared they were being watched and analysed, and that the Party had got away with their tyranny. I was half-expecting Big Brother to have been a machine algorithm all along, with how perfectly planned the Party was in capturing traitors by planting rebellious material as if it were rat poison. In my mind, no political organisation comprised of humans will ever be able to carry out what the Party had while also being able to hold on to their power. Maybe if I had read this when I was younger it would have impacted me more, let alone before the age of surveillance and censorship we are currently in. Either way, I’m still thankful that I finally got around to reading this classic.
Graphic: Fatphobia, Misogyny, Gaslighting, War, Classism
Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation
Graphic: Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia, Racism
Graphic: Confinement, Torture, Gaslighting
Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Classism
Minor: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, War
Graphic: Confinement, Torture, War
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia
Minor: Alcoholism, Alcohol
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Gaslighting
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Classism
Other than Winston, I enjoyed the book. Winston's treatment by Big Brother reminded me a bit of Nurse Ratched's torture of Mack in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
This book feels like the blueprint for Project 2025. Someday, I'd love to meet one of the Project 2025 architects and get an honest take on how they came to put it together. I would bet my most beloved possession that 1984 heavily influenced their strategy. The thing is, a lot of what's in the book has already proven true or been attempted (e.g., during the Japanese occupation in Korea, Koreans were prohibited from speaking Korean - all language was controlled in an attempt to break the Korean spirit). So they've got plenty of historical evidence of what was effective and what can be reinstated or revisioned. Scary times! Feels like I need to reread Animal Farm too now.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Police brutality, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Child death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Police brutality, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Colonisation
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Classism
Moderate: Body shaming, Slavery, Stalking, Colonisation, War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Sexual content, Excrement, Death of parent, Murder
I am glad I re-read it. Orwell’s writing is masterful. The novel is a journey that is folded in on itself, details constantly evolving in light of new context. The reader feels the hope and despair Winston oscillates between. The plot is full of intrigue. It stays firm in its recount of horrid events as well as simple human joys. The parallels drawn to our world are startling. The passionate determination of Winston is palpable. Orwells mind has created a world that is not only real within its pages, but persists in one’s subconscious afterward.
This book is intelligent and poignant. The themes discussed and analyzed are intentionally parallel to our society. The awareness this book awakened in me as a teen and distilled once again as an adult is something I am grateful for-though the reading experience is quite emotionally turbulent. The story is dark, startlingly so, and I recommend reading it with care.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Rape, Colonisation
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide