George Orwell’s 1984

Join us for our next book in the Rubber Banned Book Club!

George Orwell’s novel 1984 was published in 1949. He wrote it after years of brooding on the twin menaces of Nazism and Stalinism as a warning against totalitarianism. The novel’s chilling dystopia made a deep impression on readers, and Orwell’s ideas entered mainstream culture. The book’s title and many concepts, such as Big Brother and the Thought Police, are instantly recognized and understood, often as bywords for modern social and political abuses.

The book is set in 1984 in Oceania, one of three perpetually warring totalitarian states (the other two are Eurasia and Eastasia). Oceania is governed by the all-controlling Party, which has brainwashed the population into unthinking obedience to its leader, Big Brother. The Party has created a propagandistic language known as Newspeak, which is designed to limit free thought and promote the Party’s doctrines. Its words include doublethink (belief in contradictory ideas simultaneously), which is reflected in the Party’s slogans: “War is peace,” “Freedom is slavery,” and “Ignorance is strength.” The Party maintains control through the Thought Police and continual surveillance. [Encyclopedia Britannica]

WHY WAS THIS BOOK BANNED IN SOME SCHOOLS & STATES?

1984 is banned due to its satirical nature towards politics and leaders of government. 1984 can be deemed as almost predictive and philosophical, making many schools wary of allowing it in libraries. Along with the political nature of the book being frowned upon, 1984 has also been banned for some of the sexual nature of the relationship between Julia and Winston. Many schools find the scenes to be too risque for allowing in schools. 1984 depicts the censorship of literature and film found in Oceania, and how it has created a downfall of the book’s society, which is what makes it so ironic that 1984 is being censored. [written by then-high school student Emersen Cwiklinski, Charger Press / Hamilton High School where the book is available to all students.]

ABOUT GEORGE ORWELL

George Orwell was the pen name of an Englishman named Eric Blair. He was born in Bengal in 1903, educated at Eton, and after service with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, returned to Europe to earn his living writing novels and essays. He was essentially a political writer who wrote of his own times, a man of intense feelings and fierce hates. He hated totalitarianism and served in the Loyalist forces in the Spanish Civil War. He was critical of communism but considered himself a Socialist. He hated intellectuals, although he was a literary critic. He hated cant and lying and cruelty in life and in literature. He died at forty-seven (47) of a neglected lung ailment, leaving behind a substantial body of work, a growing reputation for greatness, and the conviction that modern man was inadequate to cope with the demands of history. [Penguin Group]

ABOUT THE READERS

IAN PAUL CUSTER is a proud Ensemble member of American Blues Theater. He’s a Chicago-based actor and musician. American Blues credits include: It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! (Jeff Award nomination for Ensemble, Production-midsize, & Short Run); Buddy – The Buddy Holly (Jeff Awards for Ensemble & Musical-midsize); Spitfire Grill; The Columnist (Jeff Award nomination for Production-midsize); Little Shop of Horrors (Jeff Award nomination for Musical-midsize); Yankee Tavern. Additional Chicago credits:  Waitress, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Paramount Theatre); Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812 (Writers Theatre); 33 Variations (Jeff Award– Best Production, Midsize), and To Master the Art (TimeLine Theatre), Annie Bosh is Missing (Steppenwolf Theatre), High Holidays (Goodman Theatre). Ian has also had the pleasure of working with Porchlight Music Theatre, Marriott Theatre, The Lyric Opera, Theatre Wit, A Red Orchid Theatre, MPAACT, and Court Theatre. Regional credits: Hero: The Musical (Asolo Rep Theatre), Cymbeline (Notre Dame Shakespeare), Romeo and Juliet (Cardinal Stage), Peter Pan  (360 Entertainment – London, England). Television credits: Somebody Somewhere, APB, Empire, Chicago Fire, and Chicago PD. Ian received his BFA from The Theatre School at DePaul University.

EDITHA ROSARIO-MOORE is a proud Ensemble member of American Blues Theater and current secretary of the Board of Directors.