XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien, alt.books.cs-lewis, rec.arts.books.childrens   
   XPost: rec.arts.sf.written   
   From: hayesmstw@hotmail.com   
      
   On Tue, 24 Jan 2006 16:19:27 -0000, "westprog"  wrote:   
      
   >   
   >"Ray Cunningham"  wrote in message   
   >news:1138117105.058114.79190@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...   
   >...   
   >> > > >To call it an allegory means missing the point totally. Animal Farm   
   >is an   
   >> > > >allegory. The animals represent people and groups from the Russian   
   >> > > >Revolution. Indeed, 1984 can be read as an allegory. TLTWATW is not   
   >an   
   >> > > >allegory because Aslan is clearly stated to _be_ Christ in a   
   >different   
   >> > > >world. Lewis considers the possibility that Christ might become   
   >incarnate   
   >> > > >somewhere else. That's why Aslan behaves differently to Jesus, and   
   >> > > > different things happen.   
   >   
   >> > > "Animal farm" is indeed an allegory, but "1984"? I don't think so.   
   >It's a   
   >> > > novel set in the future (from the time when it was written), and the   
   >> > setting   
   >> > > is what the author thought the world could be like if certain trends   
   >in   
   >> > his   
   >> > > own time continued. In that respect Aldous Huxley's "Brave new world"   
   >was   
   >> > > similar, except he chose a different set of trends. Neither is an   
   >> > allegory.   
   >> > > They are just novels set in an imaginary future.   
   >   
   >> > I suggest a rereading of 1984. It contains clear portrayals of Stalin   
   >and   
   >> > Trotsky, and references the turnaround in Communist loyalties following   
   >the   
   >> > Nazi invasion of the USSR. It is as much an allegory of the 1940's as it   
   >is   
   >> > a speculation about a possible communist Britain.   
   >   
   >> It don't think the similarities are strong enough to make it an   
   >> allegory. Big Brother is a dictator, but what are the other   
   >> similarities to Stalin? Emmanuel Goldstein is a former supporter turned   
   >> official enemy, but is there anything else to tie him to Trotsky? And   
   >> yes,  the on-again off-again Germany/Russia enmity is reflected in the   
   >> wars with Eastasia and Eurasia, but (you fill in the rest)   
   >   
   >I carefully said "can be read as an allegory".   
   >   
   >> 1984 is in the tradition of "what if these current events continue into   
   >> the future?" not "see how these representations of existing figures   
   >> cast new light on their relationships".   
   >   
   >Asimov in his debunking of 1984 complained that it wasn't really SF at all,   
   >just an attack on the USSR, and hence a Bad Thing.   
   >   
   >The speculation and the allegory go hand in hand. The title itself is an   
   >allegory of the year the book was written.   
      
   Ah, there's the problem.   
      
   You are confusing an allegory with an anagram.   
      
      
   --   
   Steve Hayes   
   Web: http://www.geocities.com/hayesstw/stevesig.htm   
        http://www.bookcrossing.com/mybookshelf/Methodius   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)