Orwell, or Concerning Visionary Power | by Umberto Eco
There is very little about the book — although this very little is quite important — that is prophetic. At least three-quarters of what Orwell narrates is not negative utopia, but history.
There is very little about the book — although this very little is quite important — that is prophetic. At least three-quarters of what Orwell narrates is not negative utopia, but history.
Il terribile libro di Orwell ha segnato il nostro tempo, gli ha fornito una immagine ossessiva, la minaccia di un millennio assai prossimo, e dicendo “quel giorno verrà…” ci ha impegnato tutti nell’attesa di quel giorno.
Having soothed themselves with these comfortable falsehoods, people proceeded on their way to make Orwell’s prognostications come true. Bit by bit, and step by step, the world has been marching toward the realization of Orwell’s nightmares; but because the march has been gradual, people have not realized how far it has taken them on this fatal road.
George Orwell: 1984 – Introduzione, antologia critica e bibliografia a cura di Aldo Chiaruttini. Oscar Mondatori, Dicembre 1983
The first thing anyone would notice about “We” is the fact – never pointed out, I believe – that Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” must be partly derived from it.
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