Parent reviews for 1984 (2024)

As a high school English teacher, I would not recommend this book to kids. I cannot imagine teaching it in the classroom. It is an excellent dystopian novel with connections to the modern day and deep themes; however, the sexual content is continuous and explicit, discussing pleasure and how naked bodies look. The main character lusts after a woman, and about halfway through the book it becomes seriously depressing. This will affect kids differently, having a major impact on those already struggling with depression and anxiety. I wouldn’t let my daughters read it.

Great messages

Too much sex

Too much drinking/drugs/smoking

Educational value

Great messages

Too much sex

This is a classic that is not for kids. I love how the book begins, and it is clearly a forefather of a lot of great sci-fi and dystopian tales. But overall I hated it. In the process of beating its protagonists into submission, it likewise treats the reader similarly. I found the book stressful to read, depresssing, and far darker than anything else I've ever read. There are lessons here but the repeated sexual content (going so far as descriptions of the skin of a nude person, intense pleasure during and after lovemaking), habitual drinking of an alcoholic, and the long graphic depictions of unspeakably cruel tortures and starvations, are far too much for even teenage readers. Easily the most violent book I've ever read, and more violence and nudity than the vast majority of rated R films. I am dismayed that this was assigned in 7th grade at public school. I think a person would need to be an adult to properly cope with all the dark, disturbing content in this "ungood" book.

Too much violence

Too much sex

Too much drinking/drugs/smoking

1984 depicts a different kind of Utopia earlier novels depicted. A sort of Utopia that has been since coined as Orwellian, the direct opposite of Utopia, otherwise known as a Dystopia. People living in a country, where the leaders apply an authoritarian framework in controlling their citizens, in the most extreme ways, which makes the regimes of Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin and other dictators look quite insignificant.Doing everything, from working to thinking are ALL in the hand of the Government, of the authoritative state. Any trace of insubordination, whether it is verbal, acted out or thought of can be detected by the state by things such as the Thought Police, the television and even the neighbours, friends and families who will NOT hesitate to sell out anybody, even their own to the authorities. Indeed, even the language is altered in such a way that you can not convey what you believe, or oppositive thoughts, since they have been removed from the vocabulary and individualism is considered to be a crime.Even time, or at least, how we see past events is controlled by the states as well, changed into something that fortifies the thoughts of the current dictator, therefore controlling the future, I would like to quote: „Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.” This sentence has some roundness to it; it is infinitely reinforcing and fortifying itself, rooting the regime’s norms deeper into the society with every beginning of the cycle. In time, even truth loses its meaning; there is no truth apart from what the state dictates. If they say the Universe is geocentric (meaning that the Earth is the centre and everything revolves around it), you will accept it. If they say 5+5=8 you will accept it, and so on.The setting of the novel is a post-WWII one, which was divided into three different superpowers; Eurasia, the territories of Europe and Russia, Oceania, which consists of the British Isles, America, Australia and lastly, Eastasia, stretching from Portugal to the Bering Strait. These three superpowers wage a constant pseudo war (at least in my opinion) against each other to keep their respective populations in check. The Party of Oceania’s slogan (which is the prime example of Doublethink in the novel) is highly connected to the war and the population control employed by Oceania, which is why I will mention it next.War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery,Ignorance Is Strength.This first line of the slogan means that, though Oceania is in a constant alert due to the ongoing „war”, the population behaves like there is peace (since as I mentioned, the war is most probably a proxy to keep the population in control). It was created by the Party to ensure continuous control and power over people because during a war, nations unite and people tend to focus on the common enemy. Therefore they are less focused on how sh**ty their own lives are. It is also easier to hate something rather than to realise that it is your life that is miserable.The second line of the slogan, Freedom Is Slavery suggests that whomsoever attempts to seek independence and not following and obeying what the Party dictates will be enslaved. Therefore the only way to be free is to join the Party, becoming the slave of it. Hence it is impossible to escape slavery.The last line; Ignorance Is Strength. If you want answers, if you want the truth, you are considered weak, which makes people put their faith in the Government’s honesty (which is never a good idea). Whenever you have faith in something, you trust them without questioning what they are doing or the reason why they are doing it. When talking about the government, it takes a strength of faith not to question its motives.There are compromising situations, there are police states, but I believe we can be thankful we are not living in the Orwellian Nightmare.

Educational value

1984 is one of my favorite books of all time. It's an epigrammatically sardonic yet frighteningly accurate metaphor for power, war, and governmental perlustration wrapped up in a dystopian forbidden romance. With excellent characters, an intense story, and a truly terrifying ending, this is a must-read for teens and up--beware, though, of its disturbing themes and depiction of violence, sometimes intertwined with sexuality. Beautiful, upsetting, and utterly astounding, but not for young kids.

Too much violence

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One of the best books I've ever read, and one of the only I've been able to re-read again and again without it getting old. A powerful look at the concepts of totalitarianism, communism, dystopianism, the concept of society itself. Contains violence and sex, but nothing is thrown in for mere shock value; everything is in context and plot-relevant. I suggest you begin reading this book immediately, if you haven't already read it. And if you have, read it again. Now.

Educational value

Great messages

Great role models

Too much violence

Too much sex

1984 is a great depiction of why power should be balanced in government, and could also be used to relate to everyday life. Talks about constant surveillance, contains torture scenes, and a sex scene. Definitely for teens/more mature tweens, otherwise a great book

Educational value

Great messages

Too much violence

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Too much sex

Wonderful!

Educational value

Great messages

I read this age 13 and it really didn’t effect me. There is some scenes of Winston thinking about sex, but it’s brief and other reviews seem to overreact. The sex is never described, just mentioned, and the worst thing in this book Is just the alcohol consumption from Winston. Overall, it’s a fantastic book, truly a masterpiece of literature. PLEASE read this book!

Educational value

Great messages

Too much drinking/drugs/smoking