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A review by pushingdessy
1984 by George Orwell
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
I first read this over 10 years ago at uni, along with "Brave New World". Chilling as they were, I loved both of these dystopias for their clarity and brilliance, and reread them a few times... but it had been a while. Since I moved out of my parents' and brought all my old books, I've been slowly revisiting them - BNW got its turn in 2020 as I watched the new adaptation (eh), but recently I really wanted to revisit 1984, and I did so this week. It just feels relevant. Which sucks
As is the case with "The Handmaid's Tale", I wish Apollo's aim on these writers had been a little less true. Or that the people in power didn't mistake these stories for a manual. Or that these writers had been less adept at looking at history and saying, "yes, that has happened, and therefore."
During this reread, I was particularly curious about one aspect of the book. I've seen discourse that deemed this classic problematic because "Winston r*pes Julia and is super misogynistic", and I really couldn't remember if that was true. After all, I was but a baby feminist when I first read it. Well...
Yeah, the first one doesn't happen; he only thinks about it when he believes she's a spy. But I also didn't find the book particularly misogynistic. Does it have a XXI century handling of female characters? Of course not; but many books written this century don't, either. It's true that most of the women in the book don't come off particularly well... but neither do most of the men. Winston attitude towards women, at turns indifferent and violent, has a reason in this story - the Party doesn't want people to feel desire or love towards one another. The women are said to be some of the most staunch, loud and unquestioning supporters - but that is painfully true of white conservative women irl, and again, we're seeing this from Winston's view.
Once again the internet has cried wolf to condemn a book they definitely should be reading, in the age of AI-generated media, hyper surveillance, and demands of purity of thought, cancellations and self-policing. After reading "Yellowface", I'm looking at the Two Minutes of Hate under a new light...
As is the case with "The Handmaid's Tale", I wish Apollo's aim on these writers had been a little less true. Or that the people in power didn't mistake these stories for a manual. Or that these writers had been less adept at looking at history and saying, "yes, that has happened, and therefore."
During this reread, I was particularly curious about one aspect of the book. I've seen discourse that deemed this classic problematic because "Winston r*pes Julia and is super misogynistic", and I really couldn't remember if that was true. After all, I was but a baby feminist when I first read it. Well...
Yeah, the first one doesn't happen; he only thinks about it when he believes she's a spy. But I also didn't find the book particularly misogynistic. Does it have a XXI century handling of female characters? Of course not; but many books written this century don't, either. It's true that most of the women in the book don't come off particularly well... but neither do most of the men. Winston attitude towards women, at turns indifferent and violent, has a reason in this story - the Party doesn't want people to feel desire or love towards one another. The women are said to be some of the most staunch, loud and unquestioning supporters - but that is painfully true of white conservative women irl, and again, we're seeing this from Winston's view.
Once again the internet has cried wolf to condemn a book they definitely should be reading, in the age of AI-generated media, hyper surveillance, and demands of purity of thought, cancellations and self-policing. After reading "Yellowface", I'm looking at the Two Minutes of Hate under a new light...