Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

1984 by George Orwell

116 reviews

chain's review against another edition

challenging reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, Classism, and Deportation

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, Rape, and Suicide

kailiyahknight's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Rape, Slavery, and War

Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

vnfhcxksiw's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Gaslighting, and War

Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

riverofhorton's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

So this was actually my second read of this book, the first having been around 10 years ago. Just as I did the previous read through, I was struck by just how much of this book is relevant to our world today. This is one of the books that I will keep coming back to again and again throughout my lifetime.
The book itself is a somewhat dramatised (hopefully) version of Stalin's Russia/Nazi Germany. It has so many layers to it, and I', still not convinces I've worked out just how deep the 'Party' goes in their propaganda, gaslighting, and plotting against its own citizens.
This is an incredibly well planned out (or perhaps the word is researched) and realised world, where even the bits that are fiction could very easily be real. That, I think, is the true terror of this book: How easily society could go from even today's status, to that found in this book. Thus, Orwell's intention to have this book serve as a warning was fully realised.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

rochelleisreading's review against another edition

dark informative slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual content and War

Minor: Rape

cursed_hal's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Sexism, and War

Minor: Child death and Colonisation

hannahcstocks's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

gvstyris's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

But if there was hope, it lay in the proles. You had to cling on to that. When you put it in words it sounded reasonable: it was when you looked at the human beings passing you on the pavement that it became an act of faith. 

Although I would argue that 1984 is far from the most realistic dystopian novel I have ever read, its influence on popular culture (and the wider genre!) is absolutely undeniable. I was surprised upon re-read how conceptual Orwell's Oceania is: it manages to still read a little like a political manifesto despite lacking Animal Farm's much more explicit allegories. This novel is also incredibly accessible because Orwell really breaks down the world for the reader, which was a welcome change after Dune.

There are a couple areas where 1984 really shined for me. Primarily, newspeak. Orwell aptly portrays language as a tool for control and manipulation, and the appendix's inclusion really made a difference for me. I was also in complete awe of the pages devoted to 'Goldstein's' agenda, which highlight the broader sociopolitical context of this novel so cleverly. They reminded me of The Handmaid Tale's 'Historical Notes' section -- genuinely such a cool way to place Orwell's world within a timeline that the reader is familiar with.

A couple criticisms have turned me off from a higher rating. As pointed out in the afterword of my copy, race is entirely absent from Orwell's world, which is a somewhat bizarre (and unconvincing) choice given its post-Holocaust setting. The misogyny and subtle racism are also pretty distasteful, which I think is important to acknowledge in a novel intending to speculate on the fate of humanity. Julia's character is relatively vapid and disinterested in broader political affairs, which was a struggle for me when contrasted so obviously with Winston's 'intellect.'

That being said, 1984 is absolutely worth the read, and outshines Fahrenheit 451 in almost every way possible...

One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Murder, and War

Minor: Racism

te_ss_i's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Classism

scottishgremlin's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I really didn’t enjoy this book. I can appreciate its literary merits and contributions to the dystopian genre, but it was arduous to read and Orwell’s depiction of female characters was nauseating. It was also just kind of boring. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture

Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism