1984: Initial thoughts

So I'm what, 65 pages into this novel? So all bets are off on impressions and whatnot. These are more rambling thoughts than hardcore analysis. However, because its a fairly sedentary novel I think I can give it a shot:

I say its a sedentary novel because nothing has happened yet. I have seen the world of Oceania, of Protagonist McGenericname's totalitarian world, but it seems that the book so far has been an exercise in very subtle setting exposition rather than plot. Hopefully that will change soon, because there is only so much you can say about a world if nothing is happening in it.

The largest real plot-based action has been Winston's (For that is his name: I wanted to call him both Milton and Arthur before I checked the book, probably because in my mind he is Milton from Office Space and Arthur Dent from Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy...) decision to write in his forbidden journal.

Much has been said, in fact, about the inherent feeling one gets in their bones when things aren't as they should be, that rears its head when conditions are not up to snuff. Orwell seems to therefore believe that humanity will always know when its being cheated, no matter how much you "rewrite the past". On the other hand, very few seem to actually retain this sense, and these tend to be those that are "vaporized". So perhaps he believes that people are easily deluded and made into sheep.

Unless you're a Prole of course. Because then it doesn't matter what you do.

It is ironic that the Proles are labeled as a lower class, as dirty and uncivilized and yet within the context of the novel they are the ones I envy. The party slogan "Proles and Animals are Free" is obviously designed to make freedom seem a dirty thing, and yet I would apparently gladly sacrifice my 'humanity' for my 'freedom' (As defined by Orwell's world)

A lot of this book seems to also focus on perception and truth, so I think its safe to call those themes. Freedom is another one.

The party's attitude towards sex reminds me a lot of the film "Pleasantville", in their fear that eroticism breeds rebellion in some way.

Its only just occurred to me how ugly a word "erotic" is. Its the "Raw" sound in the middle. Ugh.

Anyways, these be my thoughts on 1984 so-far, mostly for my own reference. Peace.