h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: 1984, by George Orwell - A727959
Author: Bob Grocer - U189876

Hello everyone. Last time I checked there was no entry on everyone's favorite book about Big Brother, 1984, so I wrote one. If everyone gives it some advice then who knows, maybe it'll make it into the Edited!

Hi Bob.

- not a bad entry, although I'm not sure if the layout wouldn't benefit from some changes.

Rather than just outlining the plot and giving us a short review, it would be kind of nice to trim the plot section and expand the scope of the entry to include ways in which the novel has exerted influence, including the film adaptation (which was awful!).

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0087803

I think there's been a TV adaptation as well , Many series of Room 101 on the BBC and, of course, additions to common English (Big Brother and Thought Police are, I believe, both in the OED). You might want to skip over the Channel 4 Big Brother and the Van Halen album, 1984, but that's your choice.

The thought occurs that simply outlining the plot is not going to inform anyone who has read it, and is not going to benefit anyone who hasn't, the latter being far better off getting their own copy.

Sorry for the criticism, but I think this needs a bit more work.

B

Hi there!

This is a good start for an Entry on 1984, but there are quite a few holes in it that need plugging.

Firstly, and most importantly, you give away the entire plot and ending of the book. I would imagine that people who haven't read 1984 would not appreciate knowing the ending of the book before reading it, so I would rewrite this just to give an overview of the plot and characters.

Secondly, I feel that there is not enough on the background of Orwell. Perhaps you could add more about his other books (Animal Farm, Homage to Catalonia etc.) and that his writing was inspired by H G Wells, or something

With the plot of the story, it misses out some main aspects of the story, such as the hierarchy of the Party proper and the sections of the Ministry (Truth, Love, Plenty, Peace). You also mention the Brotherhood as the underground opposition, but a random name pops up - Goldstein. Perhaps you could explain Emmanuel Goldstein's relationship to the Brotherhood and his 'illegal' book.

Also, maybe you could add a little section on Newspeak, as it does feature a lot in the book with an appendix at the end dedicated to it

I feel that this Entry is a good topic for Peer Review, but however, I think that it is not quite ready for Peer Review and that it should go in the Writing-Workshop.

Don't panic! I'm sure, with some re-tweaking, it could become an extremely enlightening Entry!

Caper Plip

Whoops, looks like a little simulpost there...

I feel this entry is missing some commentary on the book. As it is it is predominantly a summary. It gives away all of the plot to someone who hasn't read it, and gives no new insight to someone who has read it. My personal advice:
1. Cut the summary down to a tenth (arbitrary small number)
2. Add more insight

Point one is the most important I think...

AOL

Good entry, but a few points:

first off, you say Orwell favoured "socialism" over Communism and Fascism. Since Communism is a form of socialism, maybe you should use the term "liberal socialism" or "libertarian socialism" to describe Orwell's beliefs.

Second, you say England came out of the Second World War "tough and steadfast". Actually, it was Britain, not England. Also, whilst the British people may have been toughened by the war, the nation was bankrupt and increasingly under the thumb of the United States. Orwell, as something of a "little Englander", resented this and the idea of Britain as being in the shadow of a Superpower contributed to his ideas in "1984"

Worth linking to A392735 on the man himself....

Otto

There was a TV version done many years ago by the BBC.It was in the sixties in b/w and was done "live" but I saw a repeat about twenty years ago. Winston Smith was played, very well, by Peter Cushing. Despite the technical oddities it had a scary claustrophobic feel to it and the climax with the rats made me jump.

Hi Zagreb! Your use of "little englander" reminded me. Haven't we discussed this somewhere else on the site?

Actually, there were two film versions:
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0048918 and http://us.imdb.com/Title?0087803

as well as the aforementioned TV version, made in 1954:
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0174444

Jims

hi there! Keep it up thus!


Truely yours

A.R.Shams
author of "Creative Living Spirit"

"Hi Zagreb!"

Hello

"Your use of "little englander" reminded me. Haven't we discussed this somewhere else on the site?"

Possibly, I remember discussing Orwell and probably 1984 too somewhere else on this site. Can't quite remember where.

I am beginning to think that perhaps I should not continue with this article. It appears that George Orwell and 1984 have already been thourougly covered. However, I will look into all these pieces of advice, and try to change my article accordingly (yeah, I guess it is a bit too much of a simple summary).

There's articles in the edited guide on Danny Elfman the Musician and Danny Elfman the Film Composer. This book has been hugely influential on popular culture, and probably literature too, so deserves an entry by itself. Don't give up now

I agree that the plot section could be trimmed down quite a bit - think of your audience. If you've read the book, you would appreciate more information surrounding the writing of the book, his influences, the impact the book has had. Was it successful when first published? Was it banned anywhere for it's political content? If you haven't read the book, you won't appreciate the long-winded plot precis - you want reasons why you should (or shouldn't) read this book.

Oh, one last thing - I think that the book is called 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'. Pedantic, I know...

"There's articles in the edited guide on Danny Elfman the Musician and Danny Elfman the Film Composer."

My point being, there's room for some overlap in the guide

I agree with Dr Gonzo - so much of 1984 has entered the popular consciousness. The opening sentence is one of the most famous in literature, and it's certainly worthy of an entry of its own!

Otto

Anything I would have added myself has been covered, so I'll offer some moral support. Don't give up on what could be a great entry - although there is a lot of information to plough through on this subject, there is also a lot of potential for other Guide entries here. May I even suggest a University project?

Re: Posts 8 and 13.

A392735 has a paragraph at the end about this book. If this can be regarded as an expansion on that Entry then all is well and good.

Keep your pecker up Bob.

Trout

"I agree with Dr Gonzo - so much of 1984 has entered the popular consciousness"

I think someone said that way back in post 2

Now who was it?....oh, wait, wait - it was me.

B