Richie, That is a book I had my son who was about 15 read and he got it right off. He was deeply entrenched in the JW mentality when I gave it to him. He also read Animal Farm by George Orwell and those two books helped open his thinking. I absolutely can't encourage enough that any JW read those two books. And the thing is you can read it and not cause any suspicion by other JW's about you reading it. You will love it. There also is a movie called 1984 which is excellent. Good for your class enouraging everyone to read it. Balsam
Orwell, 1984, and the Watchtower
by RichieRich 32 Replies latest jw friends
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james_woods
I agree with everything on this thread; just let me add this-
What about that great movie THX1138? A lot the same theme and just let me add that I saw it first release in a theatre with a JW girlfriend and she got up and walked when the nude scene came on. I stayed put and left her to cool heels in the lobby.. was rewarded by that truly great car chase with the turbine powered McLaren GT at the end! Heard that the producer of this movie went on to succeed at greater things, too.
Seriously, I think there are a lot more JW young that can see right straight through this stuff. What we can do best is to illustrate to them that there is really a very good life outside the control zone.
pleading "Not Guilty" of drug evasion, (and I don't want Donald Pleasance as my roomie)
James
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belbab
I have to tell you a little story about Gary Botting, and the book the Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. Gary's mother was a staunch, solid Jehovah's Witness.
When the book was published and was in the book store at the university, Gary goes in and asks the store manager how his book was doing.
The manager said I got good news and bad news.
Gary: What's the good news?
Manager: All your books are sold out.
Gary: What's the bad news?
Manager: Your mother comes in and buys them all and burns them.
belbab
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belbab
If I remember right, and I will verify this, Orwell did have some early ties or influence from Jehovah's Witnesses.
After the dismal failure of Freddy Franz's predictions for 1975, one Jehovah's Witness told my wife,
If we have to wait til 1984, so be it.
Orwell's book was written long before 1984. I do believe if the date 1984 had not been widely publizied by Orwell's book, the WT Society would have latched onto it.
belbab
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jstalin
1984 is one of the greatest books ever. The end, in particular, shocked me when I first read it.
The movie Brazil is a loose re-telling of 1984. I recommend it highly.
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bavman
I know Winston Smith personally...he IS pretty sneaky!
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mrsjones5
Brazil - I loved that movie
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Mary
This was the very first 'postate book I ever read and it scared the beJezus outta me.........so much so that I didn't pick up another 'postate book for a few years..........
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doogie
i read it for the second time while i was at bethel. i was already on my way out and i remember telling some guys that i worked with about it. they all wanted to have a look so i lent it to one of them and just told him to give it to whoever when he was done. he started reading it and he wouldn't stop talking about it at work. he loved it. i never got it back and i like to think that the copy is still making the rounds out there.
who knows? the irony probably went way over their heads, but it's a nice thought. my little timebomb that i left at bethel.
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enderby
i remember reading 1984 in highschool and being struck by the similarities between the novel and the society. but, 1984 is really just a satire of england at the time it was written more than a social commentary on stalin's rule. (i recommend reading 1985 by Anthony Burgess for the only good analysis ever written on Orwell's book.) i come from the same small town as Gary Botting and did my undergrad at the same university as he. i have a little story about the first time i heard of Gary.... i was working part-time for a very nice elder in my congo doing some cleaning work. we were having lunch one day and he asked what i planned on doing with my education. i told him that i would like to continue on to grad school. he replied, "i only know one witness who ever became a professor....and now he's an apostate. he wrote a book called The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. his name is Gary Botting. we used to be friends back when he was a witness and went to school in town. he invited me to have a drink one day with some of his friends from the university at the campus pub. the whole evening these people were talking about evolution and other godless theories. you just couldn't reason with them-Gary fell in with a bad crowd." home-town apostate pride!
