Criticism > Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism > Special Commissioned Entry on George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, W. Scott Lucas - On Nineteen Eighty-Four

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ON NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR

Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell's sixth and final novel, is one of the most influential books in modern history. Whatever its literary merits, and these are still heatedly debated by scholars, it has had an enduring political significance. This is not necessarily because of the complexity of the book's themes, such as its portrayal of the machine society; its warning against the indiscriminate use of technology; its consideration of the erasure of history and memory; its depiction of the frailties of individual psychology; and even its representations of gender and class. Rather Nineteen Eighty-Four received notice, acclaim, and criticism, both from reviewers and from a general audience, because of the time and environment in which it appeared.

Although the Cold War is supposedly over, to be replaced by new conflicts between the United States and threats such as “terrorism,” Nineteen Eighty-Four is...

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1. Introduction
2. Evolution Of Nineteen Eighty-Four
3. On Nineteen Eighty-Four
4. Themes
5. Critical Summary
6. Nineteen Eighty-Four In History
7. Adaptations
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four As Studied
9. Further Reading
10. Copyright