1984. Incredibly powerful book. More than any other textbook, movie or other novel ive read, it powerfully highlights totalitarianism and the potential for political repression and domination. The character of Winston, so hopeful, almost childish in his appreciation of the power of the Party, mirrors the readers initial conception of the Party. It may control your body, but it couldnt possibly control your mind! Always ambiguous, always distant, yet always pervasive, the Party had the ability to permeate your existence while maintaining its unnatainable authority and distant respect/fear. The reader learns as Winston does, the deceptiveness of the Party and the Thought Police. Not satisfied with mere actions, they want to control your perception of reality. Doublethink they call it. What really concerns me is the prevalence of "Party style" indoctrination in today's society, what we deem respectable or cool, who we give power to, what that power is based on. We, like Winston, may feel like something is wrong, but not know what to rebel against. The Thought Police arent a material force to be seen or contemplated, they're the insubstantial mediators of popular opinion through the fear of everyone's own Room 101. Convergence of popular opinion doesnt even have to start with forced uniforms, the uniforms are a natural consequence of the conformity in thought. We think we have a choice, that we have control, and through Christ we have the right choice, but the world deceives us into constant variance, change, mutability. Big Brother, popular media, celebrities, advertising executives... all these things purport to tell us who we are... and on one level we understand the superficiality, yet on the other we cant help but become slaves to its suggestion.
The ending of 1984 was powerful. I believe it contrasted the physical living with Winstons "mental subservience" to the Party. All the while satirising (word???) the "truth" of the Party line, juxtaposed with a bullet in your head. It fascinated me that the Party wouldnt kill you until you were one of them. The concept is usually cruel and somewhat incomparable to anything ive come across today.
Ive struggled to come to terms with what it means. (1) They want to control your thoughts as well as your actions. (2) Total and utter humiliation of your being. (3) A demonstration of the power of the Party... but to whom? Only the victim and the Inner Party members know of Room 101.
There are so many powerful extracts from the book. One that springs to mind was Orwell's description of the motives for the Party. He cast aside any illusion of altruism and revealed the baseness of it's search and continual hunger for power. How true is that for us as humans?
1984 made me question many things about myself and about society. The quest for truth is what drove Winston... and likewise it should for us.

If i knew how to make a msg board thing.. or a guestbook thing... i would... then hopefully i could hear some other people's opinions on stuff... but i dont know how... so...
email me on solo6@hotmail.com if you wanna say something... or... someone tell me how to make a guestbook thingy!
please
=)