一九八四讀后感

TruthandFreedomWhenIamgoingtostudyattheuniversity,IhavedecidedthatIneedtoimprovemyEnglishbetter,andthefirstthingshouldbereadingmoreEnglish-writtennovels.SoIboughtthis1984,publishedbyPenguinBooks.Ifeelverypleasedbecausethisbookdidn’tcostmuchmoney.ThenIspentabout3monthsreadingthisbook.Myfeelingschangedfromconfusiontodeepthinking.Afterfinishingreadingit,Iamveryinspired.Andthat’sthereasonwhyIwritethisarticle.Iwanttoexpressmymixedfeelings.1984,writtenbyBritishwriterGeorgeOrwell,isawellknownmodernclassicof“negativeutopia”.Itisawarningandanexpressionofamood.Themooditexpressesisthatofneardespairaboutthefutureofman,andthewarningisthatunlessthecourseofhistorychanges,menallovertheworldwilllosetheirmosthumanqualities,willbecomesoullessautomatons,andwillnotevenbeawareofit.Hecreatesanimaginaryworldthatiscompletelyconvincing,fromthefirstsentencetothelastfourwords.It’saworldthatismainlydividedintothreepartsEurasia,OceaniaandEastasia.Thesethreecountriesarealwaysinasituationthatoneisatawarwiththeotherandseeanotherasanally.ThestoryhappensinOceania,whichcoverstheNorthAmericaandtheAtalanticislands.TheleadinggroupinthiscountryiscalledtheIngsoc,orEnglishSocialismParty.TheleaderofthePartyisnamedBigBrother(BB),andhispictureisprintedintothousandsofpostsandputupeverywhere,andthereisasentencebelowthepicture:BigBrotheriswatchingyou!Peopleliveapoorlife,noentertainment,nomorebeautifulbooks(Thepartycollectanddestroyallthosebooksinthepast),nohappinessinthefamily(childrenaretaughttowatchontheirparents),notruelovebetweenmenandwomen(Womenaretoldtomarryforgivingbabiestothecountry),noownideasaboutthepartyandnofreetalk(Thepartyalwayswatchyou).Allinall,theredoesn’texistanyfreedom,eventhefreedomtokeepsilence,inthiscountry.Thepartycontrolseverything,evenpeople’smind.Butapparently,thisdoesn’tworktoeveryone.Andthat’sthereasonwhythestorybegins.ThemostimportantcharacterisWinstonSmith,acitizenofOceaniaandamemberoftheparty.HeworksintheRecordsDepartment,whichcontrolsthecountry’smaterials,likenewspapersandbooks.Heisanordinaryperson,whoworkshardandseldomspeaksaword.Forotherpeople,he’snormal.Butwhat’sdifferentamongWinstonandotherpeopleisthemind.Winstondoesn’ttrusttheparty.Hewantsfreedomanddemocracy.Hehateswhatthepartydoestothiscountry.Hedislikespeoplewholivefoolishlyandignoretheirrights.ThisbookjusttellsusastoryaboutWinston,hismindandhisbehavior.HethenmeetsagirlcalledJulia,whodarestoshowhimherlove,andspendstimewithhimthoughtheymaybecaughtandsentencedtodeath.WhenhestilltastesthehappinesswithJulia,O’Brienapproacheshim.O’BrienisamemberoftheInnerparty,whoisthoughtasarebelbyWinston.Butinfact,heknowsWinston’sfeelinganduseittogetintouchwithWinstonandthenbringWinstonandJuliaintoprison.Finally,hesucceedsintakingthe“wrong”ideaoutofWinston’smindandturninghimintoa“pure”man.Thoughwecanseetheendisatragedy.Buttheinfluenceofthenovelissohugethatpeoplestillalwaysrefertoitintoday’ssociety.Winstonisapersonwholongsforfreedomandhumanity.Heknowsexactlywhatthepartydoes.Heliveshislifeverycautiously,leavingnoexcusetotheThoughtPolice.However,thoughhebehavesverynormally,therearestillsometimeswhenWinstoncan’tholdhimself.Suchasoncehetaketheriskofbeingkilledtogotoaoldshopwhereheboughtanoldnotebook,onwhichhewritesalotofhisownopinionsabouttheparty.Thenheevenrentstheshop’ssecondfloor,whichheusesasasecretplacesharingwithJulia.HealreadyrealizesthatheandJuliawillbecaughtbytheThoughtPolice.Buthedoesn’tseethatitisinthedirtybutharmoniousroomthattheyarecaught,it’sclearthattheoldman,whoistheshopowner,belongstothepartyandrevealsthesecret.Thetelescreenisbehindthepaintinghunginthewall.Whenheisintheprison,O’Brienuseacruelwaytotreathim,makinghimchangehismind.Winstontriestofightback,buthecan’standit,theheartache,thehopelessfeelingandthe“Room101”forcehimtogiveupeverythinghebelieve,eventheloveforJulia(Theonlythinghethinksthepartycan’tdestroy).Finally,heisreleasedfromtheprison.AfterhearingthenewsthatOceaniahaswonthebattleagainsttheEurasia,hetotallysurrenders.Whatimpressesthereadersisthesentence”IloveBigBrother”saidbyWinston.Juliaisawomanwhodarestochasethehappinessandknowshowtoprotectherself.ButthedifferencebetweensheandWinstonisthatshedoesn’tcaremuchabouttheparty’sbehavior,itdoesn’tmatterwhetherthepartyisdictatorialornot.Sheonlycaresaboutherownfeeling.SheispracticalwhileWinstonisanidealist.Andthat’swhatmakesJuliaimmediatelybetrayWinstonwhensheiscaught.Maybeloveisnothinginthefaceofthepower.O’BrienisanInner-partymemberwhoinvitesWinstontojointhe”Brotherhood”andfinallyputhimintoprison.Winstonthinksheisamanwhoknowsclearlyhowthecountryisruledbutnevershowanyobjectionsaboutitexcepttheofficialword.Itisthe“doublethink”thatcanbestdescribeO’Brien.IthinkO’Brienisanexamplewhichreflectsthenormalconditionofthepartymembersinsuchsituations.It’sthosepeoplewhoseeswhatishappeningbutdon’tstopitthatcontrolstheworld.O’Brienmaynotfeelguiltyaboutwhathehaddone,becausehedoesn’thavethe“heart”anymore.IalsofeelverysurprisedatWinston’swritingskill.Inthenovel,hecreatesawordsystemcalled“Newspeak”,whichisinventedbytheparty.TheychangedthegrammarofEnglish,theydestroymanywords,suchas“democracy”,”justice”,”science”andotherwords.Theyhadsimplyceasedtodeath.Allwordsgroupingthemselvesroundtheconceptsoflibertyandequalitycanbeconcludedintooneword:”Thoughtcrime”.Basically,therearetwosentencesthataremostfamous.Oneistheparty’sslogan:”WARISPEACE;FREEDOMISSLAVERY;IGNORANCEISSTRENGTH”.Ithinkitcorrectlyshowthewaythepartyrulethecountry:alwaysatawar,nofreedom,andfoolpeople.Thesecondisthesentence:”Whocontrolsthepastcontrolsthefuture,whocontrolsthepresentcontrolsthepast”.Thepartyhascontrolledthepresentsuccessfully.Theyhidethepasthistory,theysaidthepartyisexistedsincetheworldhascomeintoexistence.Besides,thereisalsoonesentencewhichiswritteninthenotebookbyWinstonimpressedmealot.Itsays:”Freedomisthetosaytwoplustwomakefour”.Whatasimplethingitis!However,thepartyhasthepowertolettwoplustwomakefive,evensix.AndthatiswhathappenedtoWinston,hedoesgiveupandbelievetwoplustwomakefive.Itmakereadersheart-broken.1984teachesus,thedangerwithwhichallmenareconfronted,thedangerofasocietyofautomatonswhowillhavelosteverytraceofindividuality,oflove,ofcriticalthought,andyetwhowillnotbeawareofitbecauseof”doublethink”.Themostcommonthingthatoccurtopeopleafterreadingthenovelisthat:”Thatissoterrible!Ineverwanttoliveinsuchworld.”It’sobviousthatOrwellhascreatedsuchworldsuccessfully.ThankstoOrwell,awriter