NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR By George Orwell

Nineteen Eighty-Four has been on my 'Must Read' list ever since I started my English Literature course back in September of last year, and as much as I enjoyed the book (and I did!!!) it wasn't quite what I was expecting from the novel. If you have already read the book, then you will know that it is incredibly political and in some ways, I wish I had read the book before taking Politics As Level as this only enhanced my understandings of the events that were taking place and made them all the more frightening. 

When I first came across The Party's main three-part slogan at the start of the book, I found it difficult  to see how there could be any sense in the idea that war and peace are the same thing and that there is little and no difference between freedom and slavery. The idea that one is never truly free because real freedom means to be on your own and not having anyone to be accountable to or for, however paradoxically, being on your own does not mean being free at all because you are responsible for maintaining your freedom and therefore are a slave to yourself and your right to freedom. As the books progresses and these things are put into context, it makes you realise just how real and accurate these slogans actually are.

Although the plots and ideologies in the book are incredibly exaggerated, if you look close enough you can see elements of things in the book, reflected in our own society, - countries becoming and battling to become superstates, society coving up information that makes them look bad, not quite physically changing history, but in my mind they're not far off.

Initially I loved Winston's character, I thought he was brilliant and should be supported in his efforts to over throw the party, but I found myself definitely growing hard towards him and his attitudes as it became apparent of his 'fight-fire-with-fire' attitude. He complained and was repulsed by The Party's lack of morality and human nature, however he was willing to throw acid into a child's face, to lie and  murder just to get back at the party. Wasn't it the lies and the murdering of innocent lives that he was angry about? So why would acting the same way show that he was any better than them which is the conclusion that Winston comes to near the end of the novel. That his is better than them and more moral and more human. Personally, I think he is just as bad as the party, the only difference is that he is fighting for something different. I have to admit that in the final part, I felt little in the way of pain and pity towards Winston, and even found myself asking him to be sent to a forced labour camp.

One thing that Orwell has done very well indeed, is to help you empathise with the characters. As a reader, one of the first things I do in a book is develop my relationships with the characters, however right from the word go I was reluctant to connect with anyone and was wary of anything. I wanted to believe that I liked O'Brien's character until the end but something about the way Orwell wrote made me hold back and think 'yes but...'. I found myself detaching myself from Julia and getting as far away as I could because I didn't know if I could trust her. Even Winston who is the protagonist, the person we are supposed to love and support in any other novel, here you just want to keep an eye on him. I was very worried through most of the novel that he was going to do something that even the reader couldn't forgive him for it. 

Nineteen Eighty-Four is a brilliant book and one I am so glad to have read. I was genuinely surprised at how easy it was to read. The pages kept turning and I kept on reading. The hardest part of the book to read was the segment from THE BOOK and even then, it never became unenjoyable. The whole thing has been a fascinating and incredibly thoughtful journey. I know this was Orwell's final novel, but it has left me wanting to back-track and pickup Animal Farm as soon as I get the chance.

WILD OATS (Poem) By Philip Larkin

In the scheme of things, Wild Oats is a poem quite different to the other poems that I have studied by Philip Larkin. This is one of the few poem where he talks directly about relationships with women.

As usual, Larkin begins with a very descriptive beginning: 'About twenty years ago / Two girls came in where I worked - " It really doesn't get more descriptive or more narrative than that. The entire poem is particularly descriptive through out, riddled with extra thoughts and metaphors, unlike Larkin's other poems which are usually well structured and follow a strict pattern of: description, thoughts and then ultimately revelation/epiphany.

In many ways, Wild Oats is an incredibly cheesy love story, where the persona end up dating second best, not actually getting the one that he wants. in the second stanza, the persona reveals the reason why he ended up with 'her friend in specs' rather than his 'bosomy English rose'. He only ever met with her, and took her out on a date twice, both of which, he was left with the impression that she was trying not to laugh at him.  This appears to have been the catalyst that sent him into developing the resignation that we see at the end. All in all, one can only conclude that he decided to date the woman in glasses because it was as good as he was ever going to get. Maybe he thought that if he couldn't begin a relationship with the woman he really genuinely loved then, by dating her friend, then he could at least spend time with her; a possible shot in the dark, another attempt to get closer to what he wanted.

On thought that comes to me is the saying 'Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all', and the impression I am getting from this poem in particular, is that Larkin/the persona's ideas about romance, are about as far from this as you can get. He would rather learn from it and, never date a woman again rather than have to go through the embarrassment, and disappointment of being laughed at and not quite getting it right. In the last stanza, the persona's resignation to the entire affair becomes apparent. Talking about how the whole event of this affair and the things it taught him were 'useful to get ... learnt', and 'that I was too selfish, withdrawn'.

I think the biggest revelation that the persona has at the end of this poem is not actually about realising that he will never get the woman he wants, although this is something that definitely crosses his mind. The real revelation is that he is 'easily bored to love'. In fact he is not overly wanting of human love or relationships, but rather he is happier with his love of music, thinking and writing. They are the things that he really loves, not women at all. I think that this is not a poem about relationships and romance, I think it is far more likely that this is a poem about the persona realising his true loves in life.

THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Well I finally managed to finish this book. I can't say that it is one of my favorite books that I've read and I doubt it will be one that I read again in a hurry.

On the whole I found it difficult to find any real plot at all, beneath the mass of description. Although I cannot fault the description used by Fitzgerald. Although I found that in many places it was harsh and sometimes almost vulgar, I thought it did a lot to reflect on Nick's character. When Nick says 'I am inclined to reserve all judgment', and then follows it up with page upon page of his opinion of people, it really goes to show how judgmental Nick really it. I felt that Fitzgerald got himself so lost and so deep in his excellent description that it's almost like he forgot to write a plot to the book and I think had it had a more solid plot then it would have made for an incredible book.

Towards the end some plot did begin to develop rather than Nick telling stories in between talking about himself and other characters, however I felt a little disappointed that this plot didn't come into the novel sooner. When I was reading it, it felt a little bit rushed and it think it had potential for Fitzgerald to do so much more with it, and I fear that had I not been reading this for my English Course then I may well have stopped reading long before the story really, truly got going.

Initially I thought that I liked Daisy the best out of all the characters however, this opinion has indeed changed. By the end of the novel, I can now say that I don't really like any of the characters at all. The only person in the book that I come anywhere close to liking is Gatsby and even then I spent most of the novel angry and frustrated with him because he was completely blind to the fact that he is such a great fool. I disliked Jordan from the start of the novel and although the initial harshness fell away as her character developed, I still felt uneasy when other characters were around her and at the end I see that I had good reason for this. Personally I felt that she behaved despicably towards Nick.

I feel that The Great Gatsby does portray a fairly accurate picture of 1920's Eastern America, even if it is all though the eyes of one upper-class individual. However no matter where you look, most stories are told from one point of view and that is what makes to warm to the characters and forces you to side with them. I thought it was nice to finally have a book that gives the upper-class perspective on things. I've found that many books set in this era tend to be about the struggles of the lower-classes and how difficult things were for them, so in that respect I did enjoy reading from a different view point. Also I thought the author also did a good job in presenting the difference between women in the different classes, e.g. Daisy and Mertyl.

All in all this book didn't live up to my expectations and left me feeling a little disappointed and I found myself having to plow through it to finish it. However there are indeed a number of good elements and once you sit down and start to analyse it there is a lot to this book. A good book to study for an English course, but certainly not one that I would choose to read for pleasure.

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green

I'm not quite sure how, but it seems that currently I seem unable to pick up a bad book, as once again I have managed to find yet another absolutely exemplary book. THE FAULT IN OUR STARS is a book that I have previously heard many a great review on and after seeing it appear on our college book club reading list, I figured I would give it ago and I have no regrets what-so-ever about doing so. I cannot remember the last time that I read an entire book within the space of twenty four hours.

The story is of a young cancer sufferer who believes she will never find love and fears doing so in case she should hurt anyone, however no matter how hard she tries, she cannot stop love carving it's path in her life. This books presents excellently the powerful image that love conquers all. It is a tear-jerking, heart-wrenching story that inspires and forces you to realise just how lucky we really are. One thing that reading this book has done for me is that it has made me look at my own life in a completely different light.

I think my favourite element of this book it Augustus's obsession with metaphors, particularly the cigarette metaphor of holding the killing thing between you're teeth but not giving it the power to kill. I found this really thought provoking and almost empowering to an extent, however it was also a bit scary realising just how much power human really have. I found this metaphor obsession the most charming and attractive thing about Gus and at times I almost found myself falling for him,

The other thing that I found really difficult about this book was the revelation that our life-time hero's may never live up to our expectations and may very well disappoint should we ever meet them in real life, I suppose, in a way, this is Green emphasising the importance to separating fantasy and reality. To make sure that fantasy and dreams keep their magic, they must never cross with the truth and the true reality. I really did feel very hurt when our two main characters got to meet their hero and he dismissed them as a pair of sick children. I found him a very brutal character, however I feel that the way he presented his opinion of cancer was necessary for us to develop the feelings that we do towards Hazel, Gus, Isaac and the other young people.

Throughout the beginning of the book, I expected it to be the story of  Gus supporting Hazel to the end and I never expected Green to turn it around and to juxtapose the characters in such a way that it almost appears as if Hazel is the healthy one, supporting her terminally ill boyfriend. This I think is what makes the story all the more heart-breaking, you manage to steel yourself to the idea that Hazel will die and then all of a sudden, we lose Gus who seemed so well recovered. This just goes to show the unpredictable nature of cancer.

It is a book that not only would I recommend, but I really do feel that it needs to be read. Yes it is a tough read, but it is made bearable by the comic relief Green has used throughout. I believe that it is an important book as well as a gripping page turner. It shows really well how this awful disease effects more than just the sufferer, and it also illustrates ass differing human natures beautifully as well. I beg of you, please add this inspiring and empowering book to you're reading list.