I had no cosmic plan in mind when I read George Orwell's 1984 right after Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, but they sure have lots in common. Both portray societies where the least common denominator has taken over. Rand's capable individuals escape by creating their own—and much better—society. Sad to say, Orwell's individuals are browbeaten and tortured into thinking and following the party line. But then since Orwell's individuals are nowhere near as self-sufficient as Rand's, their sad end is not surprising.
I also found a similarity in my response to both books. When a story was being told, I enjoyed them. When they wandered off into explanations of government and philosophy, I was bored. Like I said, reading them back to back was interesting.
I had read 1984 years and years ago—back when it was more science fiction than a picture of our current world. The thing that impressed me most this time through was Orwell's semantic approach. Newspeak, the language of Oceania, prides itself on the removal of words. After all, what need is there for the word "freedom," if the concept no longer exists? Conversely, if whatever doesn't exist, there's no need for it to have a symbol. People don't and can't talk about what doesn't exist.
Maybe in another generation or two, I'll read it again and something else will catch my attention. I don't think I'll hold my breath.
