“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” 

Do you remember when you first read 1984 by George Orwell?  I was in fifth or sixth grade, living the dream in the early ‘80s, so I’m sure my essay, “Compare life in George Orwell’s 1984 to Your Life Today” was quite compelling as far as elementary school essays went. 

 I remember discussions about why it had been banned so many times.  I remember taking sides about whether we would have betrayed Winston/Julia and what it would take to make us betray our friends and family.  What I remember most, though, is the mental image of rats in a cage and thinking that that was pretty powerful motivation.

So many quotes from the book have stayed with me through the years and still seem relevant today:

·      “Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.”

·      “Big Brother is Watching You.” 

·      “Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimeters inside your skull.” 

·      “Yes, sometimes two plus two is four. But sometimes it’s five or even three. Sometimes it’s all of those at the same time.”  

·      “Who controls the past controls the future.  Who controls the present controls the past” 

I know I read the book again in school (maybe high school, maybe college), but it didn’t stick with me the way reading it that first time did.  Such a powerful novel that introduced so many powerful ideas that are still relevant (or especially relevant?) today.

When was the first time you read 1984?  Do you have any powerful memories?  Favorite quotes?

“But it was alright, everything was alright, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.”