Charles French’s Underground Library Society – my post on 1984 by George Orwell

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Charles French is the creator of the Underground Library Society which is modeled on the concept of people becoming “books” in the manner contemplated in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. My choice of book is 1984 by George Orwell and the post below sets out my thoughts on this famous book and why I think it would be important to save this particular literary work.

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Underground Library Society

Thank you to Robbie Cheadle for her post on 1984 by George Orwell. With this entry, Robbie has joined the U. L. s., the Underground Library Society, dedicated to opposing book censorship and book banning. Please visit her blog Robbie’s inspiration .

If a society similar to that depicted in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury were to somehow come into existence and all books were banned, I would want to be part of any group involved in preserving books. If that meant learning a book off by heart, I would be prepared to do that. The big question for me would be what book to choose.

Out of all the wonderful and amazing books out there, my choice is 1984 by George Orwell. My over view of this book and my reasons as to why I believe it is still relevant to us are as follows:

1984 is a dystopian novel that was written years ago to portray a possible future for mankind as envisaged by the author in 1949. Why would anyone want to read this book now? 1984 passed more than thirty years ago so why would this book still be a worthwhile read today? The answer is that the content and ideas presented in this book are still relevant and it portrays a future that is still a possible outcome for humanity if the threats to our existing lifestyles and our planet are not resolved and harsh totalitarian measures need to be introduced as a last desperate measure to save our world. The threat of world destruction using nuclear weapons is much less likely now than in 1949, but modern people merely face new threats and obstacles which are also of our own   creation.

1984 is set in a world where the inhabited landmasses are divided into three significant superpowers, all of which are ruled by political parties where the systems of government are centralized and dictatorial and require complete subservience to the state by their citizens. The three superpowers are continuously at war and their populations live in a state of perpetual deprivation and fear of being bombed. The reason for this state of affairs becomes clear to the reader at a later stage in the book.

Winston Smith, the hero of the story, is a member of the Party and this requires him to believe in their political mandate completely and entirely. No questioning of Party doctrine is tolerated in any form and the party has methods of policing every aspect of their members’ lives including their thoughts and dreams. Every party member has an invasive screen, in the manner of a modern television, which the party can access to spy on the activities of its members. Party members are encouraged to suppress any sexual feelings other than the need to reproduce and children belong to clubs and groups where they are effectively turned against their parents and encouraged to spy on them for the state. In this way, the Party has broken down all the natural human bonds and relationships and turned people into lonely individuals with no way of forming into dissenting groups.

Winston is a thoughtful man with a high intellect whose job involves changing previously printed news articles and books to recreate the past in the manner dictated by the current wants of the Party. Nothing is safe from intervention by the Party, which is represented by a giant picture of “Big Brother”. Even the dictionary is continuously being re-written to delete unnecessary words and party members are encourage to use a reduced version of language know as New Speak.

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
― George Orwell, 1984

Carry on reading here: https://charlesfrenchonwordsreadingandwriting.wordpress.com/2019/10/07/a-new-u-l-s-member-and-a-post-on-1984-by-george-orwell/

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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

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24 thoughts on “Charles French’s Underground Library Society – my post on 1984 by George Orwell”

  2. Nice write-up Roberta.
    Orwell’s 1984 has never been more relevant than now. The dystopian world he had foretold has been unfurling right before our very eyes in many parts of the world.
    Emerging dictators in well-established democracies are becoming the norm than exception. All of which, guides us back to the first half of 20 th century and rise of dictatorial regimes from the fodder of failed government policies and shattered economy. And of course our electoral choices/ non-choices coming home to roost.

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  3. Thanks Robbie — I enjoyed your insights. Decades old books about the future are fun and often still quite relevant. Nuclear or any weapons of mass destruction are always a threat when the wrong person has the launch codes. All the progress of past generations is frighteningly fragile, when people become willing to give it up.
    I hope you have an easy coast down the other side of this midweek hump. Hugs!

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  9. I enjoyed the review of the book. It is a great choice and as a student of political theory, I can definitely say that ‘1984’ will never lose its relevance. I would be prepared to learn this book by heart if someone had the intention to destroy all the books on Earth!

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