At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable.
– Christopher Reeve, Actor, born September 25th 1952
Daily Archives: September 25, 2011
1984: Banned Books Week
Another rather ironic book to ban is George Orwell‘s dystopian classic Nineteen Eighty-Four. This iconic story revolves around a totalitarian society, very socialist or communist in nature ruled over by ‘Big Brother’.
It is on the banned or challenged lists as one of the most challenged books out there. In digging around I found that in many cases the reason for the challenge was “immoral topics” (a classic reason for challenge) or “pro-communist ideas”.
This latter reason is beyond ridiculous. I can’t see anyone who has actually read this work could honestly make that claim with a straight face. While not specifically anti-communist I certainly didn’t find the book pro-communist or socialist.
The overarching themes of the tale so resonate, even in a democratic society such as ours, that many ideas have entered so far into public perception, that they are referenced even by those who have probably never read the work. “Big Brother” as metaphor for over controlling government for example.
In the current state of the world there are many things going on that seem to reflect parts of 1984 all to darkly.
Related articles
- Banned Books Week 2011 (laith.wordpress.com)
- Oh, Brother: My view on 1984 (creativejoey.wordpress.com)
- 1984 – Image the “Future” (cicerolounge.wordpress.com)
Laith's Ramblings 