Animal Farm and 1984

Book Description

ANIMAL FARM

George Orwell's classic satire of the Russian Revolution is an intimate part of our contemporary culture. It is the account of the bold struggle, initiated by the animals, that transforms Mr. Jones's Manor Farm into Animal Farm--a wholly democratic society built on the credo that All Animals Are Created Equal. Out of their cleverness, the pigs Napoleon, Squealer, and Snowball emerge as leaders of the new community in a subtle evolution that proves disastrous. The climax is the brutal betrayal of the faithful horse Boxer, when totalitarian rule is reestablished with the bloodstained postscript to the founding slogan: But some Animals Are More Equal Than Others. . . .

1984

In 1984, London is a grim city where Big Brother is always watching you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind. Winston is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory still functions. Drawn into a forbidden love affair, Winston finds the courage to join a secret revolutionary organization called The Brotherhood, dedicated to the destruction of the Party. Together with his beloved Julia, he hazards his life in a deadly match against the powers that be.

Customer Reviews:

1984 - George Orwell.......2007-10-01

On 1984:
In George Orwell's 1984, war is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength. So goes the slogan that describes life in dystopian London, a city monstrously ruled by the totalitarian state of Oceania. Along with Oceania, the states of Eurasia and Eastasia rule the world. Their co-existence isn't peaceful, however, as the three states are perpetually at war with each other. In Oceania, the government's figurehead is Big Brother, who is a personification of the collective power of the state and not a real person. His "face" fills the streets on the poster fronts plastered all over the city with the words "Big Brother is Watching You" underneath his overbearing glare.

Winston Smith, the novel's main character, works for the Party (the government). He despises his job along with the Party and Big Brother, but under no circumstances is he allowed to show it. In fact, to so much as even think a thought against the Party or Big Brother is considered treasonous and punishable by death! At present time, the Party doesn't have the technology to read people's minds, but they are working on it. Instead they control behavior through telescreens (television panels) and microphones. In London, telescreens are ubiquitous and cannot be turned off or interacted with. Presumably there are agents monitoring activity nearly everywhere that a member of the Party might frequent through these devices. In addition to technological surveillance, there is also human surveillance offered by both children and adults. Citizens of Oceania and members of the Party in particular are encouraged to report any unusual behavior which is interpreted as disloyalty to the state. It becomes virtually impossible, then, to get away with saying or projecting any kind of dissidence towards the Party. Individualism of any kind is considered unorthodox and a threat to the state. Winston would not be allowed to read this review without risking his life.

Oceania's population is divided between Party members, who make up 15%, and the unintelligent and underprivileged proletariat, which round out the remaining 85%. The "Proles" as they are known, could theoretically rebel and destroy the Party, but they are too ignorant and simple-minded to even dream of it. Winston knows this to be true, though still reserves some faint hope that he could be wrong and that the Proles could rise against the machine. The only other hope he has of an overthrow lies in the mysterious existence of the Brotherhood, a shadow collective inside of Oceania seeking to eliminate the Party and establish a democratic government. Winston has never met a member of the Brotherhood because it is impossible to even approach somebody to find out if they are disgruntled with the Party. To do so would be to risk your life. If they caught you, you would be eliminated and dubbed an unperson in Newspeak (the official and preferred language of Oceania). You will never have existed.

This is why Winston was apprehensive when Julia, a girl working in the same government building, slipped him a note. Initially he had suspected that she was a member of the Thought Police, an organization involved with seeking out heretics or disloyal Party members. Was she trying to snuff him out? Had she tapped into his mind and found a reservoir of anti-government angst? Winston thought his days were numbered, but was she the one that would reveal this to the authorities?

Orwell has given the world a political and psychological masterpiece. Written in 1948 as a vision of how the world would look in 1984, Orwell's only fault has been the fact that the novel is more relevant today than during its namesake. In our ever-advancing technoage, 1984 stands as a caution and a warning against governmental controlling measures. But to view his novel as a reaction against totalitarianism is to miss the boat. Orwell also explores human nature from a multiplicity of levels. He examines the human thirst for power and how this thirst intensifies when a group fuses their collective thirsts into a giant groupthirst (to use Newspeak). He asks what ultimate loyalty really means and how it can be redistributed from one object to another. What will such a task require? Can pain or love or any human longing outlast or outperform the other? Can truth be altered? And if so, who has the right or the power to alter it? These questions and more are asked in 1984. Will your answers to the questions tow the Party line, or will you sigh in paranoiac relief that you can think for yourself?

On the quality of the edition:
The cover is hard and firm, just what you'd want from a hardcover edition. Unlike other hardcovers which bend easier, however, this version takes quite an effort to keep the book fully opened and bent back to read. This makes it impossible to read with one hand holding the book up. I read with the book placed on a surface, so I have no problems. But for others, this might be an issue. All in all, I am very satisfied with the quality of this edition.

just what i wanted.......2007-07-18

this was just the item i wanted so i was very well pleased with it.

Terrific reads........2007-06-13

We are living in George's nightmare !!ONE!1! =O

Animal Farm and 1984.......2007-02-12

I only wanted "1984" but was unable to find "1984" in a book apart from "Animal Farm". Otherwise the book and timelyness of shipping and receipt were great. You have made my Grand daughter happy with her gift.

A Classic.......2007-02-10

Should be required reading. A starkly written story with incredible accuracy considering it was written decades ago. Orwell is one of the best. Read Animal Farm also.

Box Set George Orwell (Animal Farm & 1984) [UNABRIDGED]

Average customer rating:

Not recommended for American audiences
George Orwell double punch

Box Set George Orwell (Animal Farm & 1984) [UNABRIDGED]
George Orwell
Manufacturer: Blackstone Audiobooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0786172940

Product Description

Orwell's brilliant 1946 satire, chronicling a revolution staged by the animals on Mr. Jones's farm (Animal Farm). George Orwell's prophetic, nightmarish vision of "Negative Utopia" is timelier than ever-and its warnings more powerful (1984).

Customer Reviews:

Not recommended for American audiences.......2007-05-19

This comment concerns 1984 as narrated Richard Brown. It is not a review of the book.

Mr. Brown has such a thick British accent it's very difficult to understand him at times. If you turn it up too loud in an attempt to hear him through his accent, you'll hurt your ears when he hits the hard s's and t's. If you have trouble with British accents, I do not recommend this version.

George Orwell double punch.......2006-06-11

"Animal Farm"

No animal may drink alcohol "to excess"

A fairy tale or a nightmare? It all began with a dream by Major, a Middle White boar, of equality, and freedom from oppression. Maybe not in our life comrade, but eventually.

The dream brings a song. Intolerable conditions lead to revolution. As time passes things change; not exactly as planned.

There are two striking parts to this tale that stand out. First when Boxer is sent to the hospital and Benjamin reads the side of the van "Horse Slaughterer." Secondly there was a party in the farm house as the pigs were playing cards with the men, two aces of spades showed up. An argument ensues. Then a realization was drawn by the creatures outside looking in as they "...looked from pig to man, and man to pig, and from pig to man again..."

------------------------------------------------------------
"1984"

Deviates corrected for their own good

In a society that has eliminated many imbalances, surplus goods, and even class struggle, there are bound to be deviates; Winston Smith is one of those. He starts out, due to his inability to doublethink, with thoughtcrime. This is in a society that believes a thought is as real as the deed. Eventually he graduates through a series of misdemeanors to illicit sex and even plans to overthrow the very government that took him in as an orphan.
If he gets caught, he will be sent to the "Ministry of Love" where they have a record of 100% cures for this sort of insanity. They will even forgive his past indiscretions.

Be sure to watch the three different movies made from this book:
1984 (1954) Peter Cushing is Winston Smith
1984 (1956) Edmond O'Brien is Winston Smith
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) John Hurt is Winston smith

George Orwell Boxed Set (1984 and Animal Farm)

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George Orwell Boxed Set (1984 and Animal Farm)
George Orwell
Manufacturer: Blackstone Audio Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 143320326X

Product Description

1984

Orwell depicts a gray, totalitarian world in which privacy does not exist, news is manufactured according to the authorities' will, and those with unorthodox ideas are brainwashed or put to death. Orwell's 1949 nightmare vision of the world we were becoming is still the great modern classic of negative Utopia.

Animal Farm

Book Description

More than a century after its beginnings, modernism still has the power to shock, alienate or challenge readers. Modernist art and literature remain thought of as complex and difficult. This introduction explains in a readable, lively style how modernism emerged, how it is defined, and how it developed in different forms and genres. Pericles Lewis offers students a survey of literature and art in England, Ireland and Europe at the beginning of the twentieth century. He also provides an overview of critical thought on modernism and its continuing influence on the arts today, reflecting the interests of current scholarship in the social and cultural contexts of modernism. The comparative perspective on Anglo-American and European modernism shows how European movements have influenced the development of English-language modernism. Illustrated with works of art and featuring suggestions for further study, this is the ideal introduction to understanding and enjoying modernist literature and art.

Average customer rating:

Future perfect

1984 Animal Farm

Manufacturer: state street press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: 1402533292

Product Description

1984 narrated by Frank Muller Animal Farm narrated by Patrick Tull

Customer Reviews:

Future perfect.......2005-01-19

----------------------------------------------------------
No animal may drink alcohol "to excess"

A fairy tale or a nightmare? It all began with a dream by Major, a Middle White boar, of equality, and freedom from oppression. Maybe not in our life comrade, but eventually.

The dream brings a song. Intolerable conditions lead to revolution. As time passes things change; not exactly as planned.

There are two striking parts to this tale that stand out. First when Boxer is sent to the hospital and Benjamin reads the side of the van "Horse Slaughterer." Secondly there was a party in the farm house as the pigs were playing cards with the men, two aces of spades showed up. An argument ensues. Then a realization was drawn by the creatures outside looking in as they "...looked from pig to man, and man to pig, and from pig to man again..."
----------------------------------------------------------
Deviates corrected for their own good

In a society that has eliminated many imbalances, surplus goods, and even class struggle, there are bound to be deviates; Winston Smith is one of those. He starts out, due to his inability to doublethink, with thoughtcrime. This is in a society that believes a thought is as real as the deed. Eventually he graduates through a series of misdemeanors to illicit sex and even plans to overthrow the very government that took him in as an orphan.
If he gets caught, he will be sent to the "Ministry of Love" where they have a record of 100% cures for this sort of insanity. They will even forgive his past indiscretions.
Be sure to watch the three different movies made from this book:
1984 (1954) Peter Cushing is Winston Smith
1984 (1956) Edmond O'Brien is Winston Smith
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) John Hurt is Winston smith

7 Books: 1- The Great Gatsby / 2- 1984 / 3- Fahrenheit 451 / 4- Lord of the Flies / 5- Animal Farm / 6- A Seperate Peace / 7- Brave New World (Unboxed Set of Classics Literature Books by Different Authors)

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7 Books: 1- The Great Gatsby / 2- 1984 / 3- Fahrenheit 451 / 4- Lord of the Flies / 5- Animal Farm / 6- A Seperate Peace / 7- Brave New World (Unboxed Set of Classics Literature Books by Different Authors)
Aldous Huxley , Ray Bradbury , George Orwell , William Golding , F. Scott Fitzgerald , and John Knowles
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VUM7HS

Product Description

7 Books: 1- The Great Gatsby / 2- 1984 / 3- Fahrenheit 451 / 4- Lord of the Flies / 5- Animal Farm / 6- A Seperate Peace / 7- Brave New World, (Unboxed Set of Classics Literature Books), in either Hard or Softcover, (See Seller Condition Comments), Shipped in one package to save on shipping costs.

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Animal Farm
George Orwell
Manufacturer: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., New York
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

George Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984: Notes From the Editors

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George Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984: Notes From the Editors
Franklin Library Editors
Manufacturer: Franklin Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Pamphlet
ASIN: B000UCUA7G

IN BRITAIN - January Jan 1984: Something to Shout About; Star Quality; Slow Boat to Wales; Of Knights and Men - John Steinbeck; Rivers of Britain: The Orwell; Animal Farm; On the Town: Haddington; Brick Dinosaurs

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IN BRITAIN - January Jan 1984: Something to Shout About; Star Quality; Slow Boat to Wales; Of Knights and Men - John Steinbeck; Rivers of Britain: The Orwell; Animal Farm; On the Town: Haddington; Brick Dinosaurs
Bryn (editor) (Mary Bryant; Carol Wright; Philip Llewellin; W. JU. Weatherby; David Mlinaric; Michael Watkins; Brian O'Hanlon; Leslie Gardiner; Mark Wallington) Frank
Manufacturer: The British Tourist Authority
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MACRB8

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1984 And Animal Farm/Book and Cassette
George Orwell
Manufacturer: Cram Cassettes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Average customer rating:

Talk Before Sleep

Beautiful

Not sappy but sad

Good storyline

Much more than a book about cancer

Talk Before Sleep: A Novel
Elizabeth Berg
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Range of Motion: A Novel

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Open House

ASIN: 0345491254
Release Date: 2006-11-28

Book Description

"Until that moment, I hadn't realized how much I'd been needing to meet someone I might be able to say everything to."

They met at a party. It was hate at first sight. Ruth was far too beautiful, too flamboyant. Not at all Ann's kind of person. Until a chance encounter in the bathroom led to an alliance of souls. Soon they were sharing hankies during the late showing of "Sophie's Choice," wolfing down sundaes sodden with whipped cream, telling truths of marriage, mortality, and love, secure in a kind of intimacy no man could ever know. Only best friends understand devil's food cake for breakfast when nothing else will do. After years of shared secrets, guilty pleasures, family life and divorce, they face a crisis that redefines the meaning of friendship and unconditional love.

From the Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews:

Talk Before Sleep.......2007-08-09

Somewhat dragged out, belabored but certainly a good story of loyalty and friendship as well as courage.

Beautiful.......2007-05-13

Berg is one of my favorite writers. I bought this book and tried to read it at one point, but one got through one chapter and then shelved this one.
A few months ago, I pulled it back out and started reading. I could not put this book down! Berg develops her characters so beautifully, realistically. The description, and "everyday" doings are true to life, which is why I almost always enjoy her books.
This book devastated me, made me sob, but was not a cheesy story in any way. I would recommend this book. It's a quick read, and totally worth it.

Not sappy but sad.......2007-03-09

This was a really heartwrenching story of the death of one woman's dear friend. I was so impressed with how Elizabeth Berg wrote about the intimate relationship between the two main characters. She just does such an amazing job that I can't even articulate what it is she does. I thought the story was very good, the writing was amazing and the reading was effortless.

Good storyline.......2007-01-15

This is a very good book dealing w/a woman dying of breast cancer and a very dear friendship that must travel down this sad path.
I highly recommend it as it is a well written book; the storyline is well done and it is not cheesey etc. but very touching and uplifting.

Much more than a book about cancer.......2006-11-19

This was a wonderfully heartbreaking story about female friends dealing with cancer. It made me sob but I loved it. Don't buy it for a long plane journey though - I read mine in the first 3 hours of a 10 hour stint, couldn't put it down.

Average customer rating:

Talk Before Sleep

Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: B000BUG8QY

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Talk Before Sleep: A Novel

Manufacturer: Dell Pub Co
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000I136NY

4 Book Parenting Collection; Healthy Sleep, Habits, Happy Child; Conscious Parenting; Baby Signs: How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk; Complete Baby & Child Care

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4 Book Parenting Collection; Healthy Sleep, Habits, Happy Child; Conscious Parenting; Baby Signs: How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk; Complete Baby & Child Care
M.D. Marc Weissbluth , Lee Lozowick , Ph.D. Linda Acredolo , Ph.D. Susan Goodwyn , and Dr. Miriam Stoppard
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WU7RJU

Product Description

4 Book Parenting Collection; Healthy Sleep, Habits, Happy Child; Conscious Parenting; Baby Signs: How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk; Complete Baby & Child Care.

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Talk Before Sleep
Elizabeth Berg
Manufacturer: RANDOM HOUSE @ TRADE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000TXR254

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Talk Before Sleep
Berg Elizabeth
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JPJP84

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Talk before Sleep,
Elizabeth. Berg
Manufacturer: Random House
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Talk Before You Sleep
Elizabeth Berg
Manufacturer: Random House Value Publishing
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ASIN: 0517284545
Release Date: 1998-11-17

4 litle talk before sleep, true to form, what we keep & open house

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4 litle talk before sleep, true to form, what we keep & open house
ELIZABETH BERG
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000V0RNRW

Product Description

FOUR NOVELS BY ELIZABETH BERG.* OPEN HOUSE 2000, WHAT WE KEEP 1998 FIRST EDITION.*TRUE TO FORM 2002 *TALK BEFORE SLEEP1994.

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Talk Before Sleep

Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 9993274259

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