![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/1984.jpg?resize=200%2C300&ssl=1\")
By George Orwell\n75th Anniversary Edition
\n\u00a9 2017, Mariner Books
\nISBN: 978-1328869333
\n304 pages\n
<\/p>By George Orwell
\n75th Anniversary Edition
\n\u00a9 2017, Mariner Books
\nISBN: 978-1328869333
\n304 pages\n
Winston Smith is a cog in the nation of Oceania, where the IngSoc Party rules everyone and everything, and Big Brother is always watching. There is no place you can go, no word you can say, no secret you can keep that Big Brother and the Party will not find out. Winston is skilled at keeping his anti-Party thoughts and his hatred of Big Brother to himself. It\u2019s well known that no one wins in a struggle against the Party. Big Brother always wins. Yet Winston is convinced he can stay true to the truth\u2013especially since he is one of the few who knows what that is.<\/p>\n
I decided late last year to read at least six banned books in 2024. George Orwell\u2019s \u201c1984\u201d was my first choice because it\u2019s said to be the most banned or challenged book of all time in the U.S. due to its sexual content and its \u201cpro-communism\u201d message. Let me address each of those things before I speak about the story.<\/p>\n
First, yes. There is sexual content, but it\u2019s of a variety that pales in comparison with sexual content in more modern books. Sex does happen, and it happens on the page, but it\u2019s glossed over, summarized, included to show that Winston and his love Julia are giving IngSoc the finger even as they express their feelings for one another. While Winston is married, he hasn\u2019t seen his wife in years, and couldn\u2019t divorce her even if he knew where she was. So, personally, I consider the \u201csexual content\u201d a non-issue.<\/p>\n
Second, I can\u2019t really see how 1984\u2019s story is \u201cpro-communism,\u201d but I\u2019ll leave that to your own judgment. Oceania is a totalitarian state, where the government rules everything, even individuals\u2019 relationships to one another. The Party has broken apart even the most essential connections people need to have with one another, and every human being in the Party is isolated from everyone else by suspicion, distrust, and fear. I feel like this book is more of a threat to established governing systems, especially in various nations in today\u2019s world, because of its similarity to what we see happening around us every single day. While the IngSoc party officials claim that they destroyed the awful, leeching \u201ccapitalist\u201d system that made individual lives meaningless and miserable, they are themselves doing the exact same things, only with greater fervor and far less mercy.<\/p>\n
My spousal unit told me he\u2019d read this book years ago and warned me that it\u2019s depressing. He was right. It is. But\u2026 BUT\u2026 it makes us take a hard look and really see the world around us. The narrative, a close 3rd person perspective, all comes through Winston\u2019s thoughts, experiences, views, and actions. In fact, much of the story takes place in Winston\u2019s head as he thinks his rebellious thoughts, then follows through to the logical conclusions of what might happen if it were known he were thinking such things, etc. He is quite observant, noticing things that should be ignored, and becoming even more endangered each time. It was a fascinating read.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, the harshest truths are the ones we most need to see. That said, I admit that this is not a happy read. I was left thoughtful, not sad but a bit grimmer than before. 1984 is not for everyone, but maybe it should be. If we could see the \u201cworst\u201d in action, maybe we could avoid it in our own, real world. Highly recommended.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Orwell 75th Anniversary Edition \u00a9 2017, Mariner Books ISBN: 978-1328869333 304 pages Winston Smith is a cog in the nation of Oceania, where the IngSoc Party rules everyone and everything, and Big Brother is always watching. There is no place you can go, no word you can say, no secret you can keep…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s8n0kX-1984","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6128,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/30\/lawn-boy\/","url_meta":{"origin":3850,"position":0},"title":"Lawn Boy","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"June 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jonathan Evison \u00a9 2019, Algonquin Books 336 Pages ISBN 13: 978-1616209230 I had no idea what to expect when I selected Lawn Boy as my second banned book for 2025. I didn\u2019t even know why it was banned, only that it was one of the 10 most banned books\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A male figure in overalls and a white tee shirt stands atop a tall ladder trimming an enormous tree against an orange background. Text reads: Lawn Boy, A Novel; Jonathan Evison, Author of The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving. \u201cFull of humor and lots of hope.\u201d \u2013 The Washington Post.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LawnBoy-201x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4949,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/23\/animal-farm\/","url_meta":{"origin":3850,"position":1},"title":"Animal Farm","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"September 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"By George Orwell ABHISHEK Publications, \u00a92021 ASIN: B0DCNXJTDH Kindle Version, file size 29690 KB I'd never read this book before. It was not required reading when I was in school. I'm not sure why I chose to read it now, other than it was a classic title on the banned\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A stylized graphic of norses, goats, cows, and a rooster surround a windmill on a red background. Text reads: Animal Farm, George Orwell.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/AnimalFarm-196x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6906,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/30\/the-giver\/","url_meta":{"origin":3850,"position":2},"title":"The Giver","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"October 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Lois Lowry \u00a9 July 1, 1993, Clarion books File size: 26.5 MB 239 pages ISBN-13: 978-0547345901 I wasn\u2019t sure what to expect when I started this book, which is my 6th banned book this year. I\u2019d read the blurb weeks before, when I\u2019d first gotten the book. But when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover depicts a sepia-toned silhouette of trees and grasses, with an aged man\u2019s face in the top right corner. Text reads The Giver. Lois Lowry.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/TheGiver-198x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2006,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2020\/07\/07\/seed\/","url_meta":{"origin":3850,"position":3},"title":"Seed","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"July 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By Rob Ziegler Night Shade Books, ASIN: B01A68YNM6 Hardcover, 341 pages. \u00a9 2011 In a world with runaway environmental change and collapsed governments, the remaining humans in the United States have two things in common: hunger, and thirst. Satori, an intelligent, living city rooted in the ruins of Old Denver,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Seed.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5323,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/31\/after-the-party\/","url_meta":{"origin":3850,"position":4},"title":"After The Party","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"December 31, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Wedding Dress Promise Series Book 2 By Ronnie Roberts \u00a9 October 24, 2014, Pajama Therapy Books ASIN: B00OVJIJFY Kindle Version, file size 1670 KB I don\u2019t usually read romances. Yet here I am reading my second romance in less than a month. It\u2019s all Author Ronnie Roberts\u2019s fault! She has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A woman with brown hair stands in the foreground, hands over her face. In the background, against a pink cover, three others decorate a room for a party. Text reads, \"Ronnie Roberts. After The Party. A Wedding Dress Promise Sweet Romance Book 2. A Secret Past Romantic Suspense.\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/AfterTheParty-188x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6894,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/27\/nineteen-minutes\/","url_meta":{"origin":3850,"position":5},"title":"Nineteen Minutes","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"October 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jodi Picoult \u00a9 March 5, 2007, Atria Books File size: 4.1 MB 468 pages ISBN-13: 978-1416538950 Caution: This review contains spoilers\u2014not of the ending, but of the story\u2019s arc. Still, I don\u2019t think that will diminish the book\u2019s impact on readers. Nineteen Minutes, which tops the list of banned\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover depicts a closeup of a classroom floor with debris and dust covering the tiles. A desk and chair, overturned, lie in the dust. Text reads \u201cNineteen Minutes, a Novel. Jodi Picoult. #1 New York Times Bestselling Author. \u2018Expertly crafted, thought-provoking, and compelling.\u2019 \u2013 Entertainment Weekly.\u201d","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Nineteen-Minutes-193x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3850"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3853,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3850\/revisions\/3853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}