I just finished reading 1984 by George Orwell and I have to admit it belongs to the best books I've ever read.
Just imagine a world, in which you seem to be the only one being aware of what is really going on, but where at the same time people who resist the government's insane system vanish and whether never come back, or they are made to change their world-view. And no, not exactly by having a few good arguments.
This is the world in which Winston, the main protagonist finds himself, in a love-banning and power-seeking world, a cold utopia reigned by hate, ignorance and censorship. Big Brother's Party controls everything, the past the present and the future simply by re-writing history. It also tries to be in charge of people's thoughts and feelings. If the Party says two plus two makes five it becomes a fact people aren't allowed to doubt. That's why Winston comes up with his own definition of freedom:
But seeking 'otherness' isn't a safe thing in a world like that. Sooner or later Winston finds himself arrested and imprisoned behind the secretive walls of the Party's prison, the Ministry of Love.
This is also where one of the book's key scenes takes place; Winston is talking to O'Brian who is about to torture him and despite the obvious circumstances Winston still feels attached to his old friend who has betrayed him in the worst way possible. Nevertheless, he is thankful that O'Brian seems to understand his feelings, sometimes even better than Winston himself, and for this Winston just can't escape his former friend's influence.
O'Brian has his own way of maximising the party's principles, by saying:
This seems to be nothing, but in the end he fails to reach this seemingly small goal.
To sum it up, 1984 is shocking and touching at the same time, and the story does hurt. Especially the last chapter.
So, if you really want to read an excellent book then I can recommend it to you. It's a real masterpiece.
EDIT: I couldn't help noticing that the vast majority of people who end up reading this post in the first place googeled the words 'sanity is not statistical meaning'. So to please them, to me the tittle of this post means that other people can only say what they think is right or wrong. Let's take the famous example of Galileo Galilei. He was forced to deny his theory of the Earth rotating around the sun, although he and we know he was right. So to put Orwell's quote into Galilei's words: 'In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.' That's what Orwell was trying to say, and actually said.
Just imagine a world, in which you seem to be the only one being aware of what is really going on, but where at the same time people who resist the government's insane system vanish and whether never come back, or they are made to change their world-view. And no, not exactly by having a few good arguments.
This is the world in which Winston, the main protagonist finds himself, in a love-banning and power-seeking world, a cold utopia reigned by hate, ignorance and censorship. Big Brother's Party controls everything, the past the present and the future simply by re-writing history. It also tries to be in charge of people's thoughts and feelings. If the Party says two plus two makes five it becomes a fact people aren't allowed to doubt. That's why Winston comes up with his own definition of freedom:
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
But seeking 'otherness' isn't a safe thing in a world like that. Sooner or later Winston finds himself arrested and imprisoned behind the secretive walls of the Party's prison, the Ministry of Love.
This is also where one of the book's key scenes takes place; Winston is talking to O'Brian who is about to torture him and despite the obvious circumstances Winston still feels attached to his old friend who has betrayed him in the worst way possible. Nevertheless, he is thankful that O'Brian seems to understand his feelings, sometimes even better than Winston himself, and for this Winston just can't escape his former friend's influence.
O'Brian has his own way of maximising the party's principles, by saying:
However, the Party knows it can't win against humanity. The fight against it is an inherent part of their policy, despite being very much aware of how the world is going to look like without it:
'Obedience is not enough. Unless he [the individual] is suffering, how can you be sure he is obeying your will and not his own?'
'It will be a world of terror as much as a world of triumph... Goldstein [the enemy] and his heresies will live forever. Every day, at every moment, they will be defeated... - and yet they will always survive.'The Party knows that there will be always individuals fighting its system, hence its main aim is to make heretics love the Party and "Big Brother" whose principles form the golden laws of this cruel society. After braking people's personality their 'victims' either want to die or they get killed anyway. Nevertheless, Winston is still fighting for his own ideas, he does his best to cling to his last, what he considers as a sane, idea
'To die hating them, that was freedom.'
This seems to be nothing, but in the end he fails to reach this seemingly small goal.
To sum it up, 1984 is shocking and touching at the same time, and the story does hurt. Especially the last chapter.
So, if you really want to read an excellent book then I can recommend it to you. It's a real masterpiece.
EDIT: I couldn't help noticing that the vast majority of people who end up reading this post in the first place googeled the words 'sanity is not statistical meaning'. So to please them, to me the tittle of this post means that other people can only say what they think is right or wrong. Let's take the famous example of Galileo Galilei. He was forced to deny his theory of the Earth rotating around the sun, although he and we know he was right. So to put Orwell's quote into Galilei's words: 'In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.' That's what Orwell was trying to say, and actually said.
