For what did I know?

This is a novel that I have picked up and started many times, but never actually finished. Again, I’m not sure why. I think there are times in our lives when we are not ready to read and fully comprehend books. Maybe I was never ready to read Nineteen Eighty-Four until now, who knows.

I really enjoyed reading this novel, and I’m glad that I was finally able to complete it. It raised a lot of questions for me. It touched on issues of our relationships with other people and with our search for the truth; where our loyalties lie, and how steadfast we are in them. It’s really depressing to think that our thoughts can be so easily manipulated if we are not constantly searching for the truth. If we take everything that is told to us by the powers that be as true, we will lose ourselves. It is terrifying to think that our belief systems, our values and morals, can be changed through manipulation by the state. We are so susceptible to this, and we don’t even know it. I truly believe that it is the duty of every member of society to constantly question everything; to challenge those things that run counter to what he believes is right.

Nineteen Eighty-Four really cemented my beliefs in place. Obviously, it wasn’t the deciding factor. I’m pretty staunch in what I believe in, and not much can change it. It just made it that much clearer to me that these things are important, and that we can’t waver in our convictions even for a moment.