1984A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick With extraordinary relevance and renewed popularity, George Orwell’s 1984 takes on new life in this edition. “Orwell saw, to his credit, that the act of falsifying reality is only secondarily a way of changing perceptions. It is, above all, a way of asserting power.”—The New Yorker In 1984, London is a grim city in the totalitarian state of Oceania where Big Brother is always watching you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind. Winston Smith is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory still functions. Drawn into a forbidden love affair, Winston finds the courage to join a secret revolutionary organization called The Brotherhood, dedicated to the destruction of the Party. Together with his beloved Julia, he hazards his life in a deadly match against the powers that be. Lionel Trilling said of Orwell’s masterpiece, “1984 is a profound, terrifying, and wholly fascinating book. It is a fantasy of the political future, and like any such fantasy, serves its author as a magnifying device for an examination of the present.” Though the year 1984 now exists in the past, Orwell’s novel remains an urgent call for the individual willing to speak truth to power. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 7
Page 6
... out of his eyes. The stuff was like nitric acid, and moreover, in swallowing it one had the sensation of being hit on the back of the head with a rubber club. The next moment, however, the burning in his 6 George Orwell.
... out of his eyes. The stuff was like nitric acid, and moreover, in swallowing it one had the sensation of being hit on the back of the head with a rubber club. The next moment, however, the burning in his 6 George Orwell.
Page 9
... head, literyears. At this moment, however, even the monologue had dried up. Moreover his varicose ulcer had begun itching unbearably. He dared not scratch it, because if he did so it always became inflamed. The seconds were ticking by ...
... head, literyears. At this moment, however, even the monologue had dried up. Moreover his varicose ulcer had begun itching unbearably. He dared not scratch it, because if he did so it always became inflamed. The seconds were ticking by ...
Page 10
... head between her breasts as if he was trying to burrow right into her and the woman putting her arms round him and comforting him although she was blue with fright herself. all the time covering him up as much as possible as if she ...
... head between her breasts as if he was trying to burrow right into her and the woman putting her arms round him and comforting him although she was blue with fright herself. all the time covering him up as much as possible as if she ...
Page 13
... head on the telescreen there marched the endless columns of the Eurasian army—row after row of solid - looking men with expressionless Asiatic faces, who swam up to the surface of the screen and vanished, to be replaced by others ...
... head on the telescreen there marched the endless columns of the Eurasian army—row after row of solid - looking men with expressionless Asiatic faces, who swam up to the surface of the screen and vanished, to be replaced by others ...
Page 15
... head away from the pillow in a nightmare, Winston succeeded in transferring his hatred from the face on the screen to the dark - haired girl behind him. Vivid, beautiful hallucinations flashed through his mind. He would flog her to ...
... head away from the pillow in a nightmare, Winston succeeded in transferring his hatred from the face on the screen to the dark - haired girl behind him. Vivid, beautiful hallucinations flashed through his mind. He would flog her to ...
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
already Big Brother body called cell Charrington Comrade confess conscious Crimestop dark diary door doublethink dream Eastasia enemy enormous Eurasia everything exist eyes face feeling felt fingers four girl glass Goldstein hair hand happened Hate Week head heart human Ingsoc Inner Party Julia kind knew lived looked meaning memory merely meters mind Ministry of Love Ministry of Plenty Ministry of Truth Minutes Hate never Newspeak words O’Brien Oceania Oldspeak once one’s Outer Party pain Party member past perhaps person piece possible proles remember Revolution round say the bells seemed seen shouting side simply sitting smell somewhere sort speak speakwrite stood stopped street suddenly Syme talking telescreen There’s thing thirty Thought Police thoughtcrime took turned twenty Victory vocabulary voice walked wall whole Winston woman