THE BOOK RIOT 50: #3 Orwell’s 1984 v. The Real 1984
To celebrate Book Riot’s first birthday on Monday, we’re running our best 50 posts from our first year this week. Click here for the running list. This post originally ran November 8, 2011.
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George Orwell’s 1984, first published in 1949, paints a grim picture of a terrifying dystopia. However, (with tongue firmly implanted in cheek), I’d argue it’s not without its charms. Reading the novel again this past weekend made me wonder (not seriously) which would’ve been better to live in — Orwell’s 1984 or the real one. Since I know you love charts, let’s take a brief look in chart form.
Whew — real 1984 wins! I’m a little relieved, to be honest.
What do you think? Any categories for which you’d give Orwell’s 1984 the nod? Why?
* “They say that time heals all things, they say you can always forget;
But the smiles and the tears across the years they twist my heartstrings yet!”
(Lyrics have undergone an Americanization from British colloquial English.)
