1984 — Reader Q&A

Questions About 1984

by George Orwell

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Answered Questions (225)

Why do people rate this book so high? Surely I am missing something.

Rogerio The book was written in 1949, way before the events described became reality. If you are reading it with hindsight alone, yeah, than you missing the p…尘辞谤别The book was written in 1949, way before the events described became reality. If you are reading it with hindsight alone, yeah, than you missing the point big time. The author was brilliant and the clarity and capacity of projecting himself to the future of comunism is just amazing.(less)

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I'm reading this for school and I really like it so far but I'm kind of confused on what Big Brother actually is?

Niklas Big Brother is the personification of the state of Oceania. The book explains that the existence of Big Brother is necessary because it is easier to l…尘辞谤别Big Brother is the personification of the state of Oceania. The book explains that the existence of Big Brother is necessary because it is easier to love a person than an organisation, and that the name "Big Brother" was selected because it plays on family loyalty. (less)

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Alert- Stupid Question. Actually a lot of questions So was O'Brien ever apart of The Brotherhood or against the Party. Because I remember him mentioning to Winston the dream where they would meet in a place with no darkness. 2.) Do we ever find out what happened to Winston's wife Katherine? 3.) Does Julia experience the torture with the rats or just told about it?

Margarita Bastar No questions are stupid Natia and this book is a tough one :P
1. O?Brien was never against the party, but his role is to act like it to catch the rebe…尘辞谤别No questions are stupid Natia and this book is a tough one :P
1. O?Brien was never against the party, but his role is to act like it to catch the rebels. The dream Winston had was exactly that, a dream Winston imagined after seeing the look in O?Brien?s eye. O?Brien also gives them the book, but it?s just a trap so that the police can catch them with the evidence later... 2. We don?t, and it doesn?t matter. The point is, they didn?t work out cuz they never loved each other and Winston didn?t want to pretend anymore... 3. Julia also gets tortured, didn?t you see her face at the end? She?s also a zombie because when they did the torture to her, she shouted ¨DO IT TO WINSTON INSTEAD!¨ That made her realize she doesn?t love him, she loves Big Brother, and now she won?t fight for love. The book infers that the torture serves the purpose of killing all the love in the people thereby destroying their urge to rebel or fight back.

Hope that helps! Sometimes the answers are between the lines :) (less)

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This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

Beth I think he does get killed at the very end paragraph, he's in the Chestnut Tree cafe where previous traitors have been seen shortly before they have b…尘辞谤别I think he does get killed at the very end paragraph, he's in the Chestnut Tree cafe where previous traitors have been seen shortly before they have been executed. The reason they released him back into society was because his spirit was broken and he couldn't influence anyone to hate the party anymore and is therefore not a threat... They kill people after a year so that these traitors aren't kill as martyrs, because if they did die as martyrs, history will remember them as good people who fought for what they believed in and it would make the party look bad. Winston died unnoticed and loving Big Brother which was the best result for the government, who will not tolerate any dissension to themselves.(less)

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What was the deal with the rat? Did George explain it? I think it is very childlike to be afraid of a rat (without any convincing background). It makes the character rather shallow and childlike.