Orwell's 1984

Just now, I have finished reading George Orwell's masterful novel, 1984. It is merely a prediction about what the world would become in a totalitarian state. And according to Orwell's prediction, each and every individual is thought to be nonexistent; that whatever Big Brother says is always right, and that nothing else can be changed. That when the Party says that 2+2=5, it is not 4 nor 3 nor any other number but 5. That Oceania was always at war with Eastasia. That Newspeak was the official language of Oceania and English-Oldspeak- the lingua franca. That people are to follow the rules of whatever the Party says and should anyone even think (thoughtcrime)about anything against the ideals of the Party, they are to be captured and punished by the Thought Police until they understand that the Party is always right. To ensure that everyone follows the rules, telescreens are integrated in a majority of places. That history is constantly being changed, and that anything else irrelevant to the Party is deemed trash-- erased in society. Something like that. This book was both extremely haunting and convincing; a real page turning book that gets frightening the more you read it.

After reading this book, it reminded me of certain television programs, such as the Downtown Gaki No Tsukai ya Arahende Batsu Game. Although I should not be comparing a rather indecent Osaka program with one of the greatest masterpieces in literature, I thought I should just mention something similar. Batsu Game, is a game where players are simply not allowed to laugh in any given situation. To persuade them to laugh, other people purposely perform and try to make them laugh. When one laughs, they are to be punished and slapped hard on the butt by a guy suited up in black, comparable to the Thought Police. This relates to Orwell's novel because it shows the similarity of being given the strict guidelines to NOT LAUGH and to follow the rules. In the novel, it is said that they are to also follow the rules in whatever Big Brother says. And if one fails to do so, they will be punished.

I don't want to spoil the story for those who haven't read it so I will only say a few: One part in the novel reminded me of a racquetball practice room.

But hey, go read it.

今オーウェルの１９８４（一九八四年）を読み終わりました。すごいいい本です。おすすめです。