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News & ArtsTuesday, June 9, 2009
Books Ah, They Both Ripped Off We The Living Anyway
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Did George Orwell completely lift the plot for 1984 from a book that he had previously reviewed, We by Yevgeny Zamyatin? That's what this story from The Guardian (via Bookninja) concludes.
"It is in effect a study of the Machine," Orwell wrote of We, "the genie that man has thoughtlessly let out of its bottle and cannot put back again. This is a book to look out for when an English version appears." He seems to have taken his own advice.
I guess the bigger question is whether it matters or not. At this late date, you can't make any claims on the idea of dystopian sci-fi, but was it new enough then that Orwell is essentially a plagiarist? (Personally, I prefer We to 1984, but I read them both so long ago that I can't necessarily get into specifics. Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London and also, maybe especially, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, (kind of a British Catcher in the Rye) remain my favorites of his.)
1
The answer is "no". Although they share a common premise, the characters, plot & setting are pretty different.
You could make the same argument for Fritz Lang's "Metropolis".
The fear of the "modern world" and it's effect on the "old world" was pretty prevalent in lots of societies around that time.
Two works on a similar theme is a pretty far cry from plagiarism. Please save the usage for actual cases. It's a serious charge, and shouldn't be used as a synonym for "similar".
You could make the same argument for Fritz Lang's "Metropolis".
The fear of the "modern world" and it's effect on the "old world" was pretty prevalent in lots of societies around that time.
Two works on a similar theme is a pretty far cry from plagiarism. Please save the usage for actual cases. It's a serious charge, and shouldn't be used as a synonym for "similar".
3
I thought this was already well-established? That's what my evil 12th grade Russian Lit teacher told us when he made us read "We", anyway. I only read the first half (natch), but remember seeing startling similarities to 1984.
4
I'm pretty sure Orwell talked more than once about using "We" as inspiration for 1984. I don't think it was a secret. Vonnegut admitted to using it, too.
5
Regarding the title: No. "We The Living" was published a decade after "We," and Rand specifically mentioned it as one of her favorite novels.
8
Alright, first: "Orwell... essentially a plagiarist?"
Dumb. And you know it.
Moving on, assuming you read them both in English, the prose in 1984 is so vastly superior to Zamyatin's that I don't actually believe that you prefer We. (I guess you said it's been a while, that's the only explanation I could understand)
And, I can see why one might favor the journalistic Down and Out, but to suggest that Keep the Aspidistra Flying is a superior work to 1984 is crackers, and I'd be willing to bet that the author himself would take my side on this one. I like Aspidistra, but it's structurally weak like all Orwell's fiction was until his last successes.
Dumb. And you know it.
Moving on, assuming you read them both in English, the prose in 1984 is so vastly superior to Zamyatin's that I don't actually believe that you prefer We. (I guess you said it's been a while, that's the only explanation I could understand)
And, I can see why one might favor the journalistic Down and Out, but to suggest that Keep the Aspidistra Flying is a superior work to 1984 is crackers, and I'd be willing to bet that the author himself would take my side on this one. I like Aspidistra, but it's structurally weak like all Orwell's fiction was until his last successes.
9
Oh, and I forgot: I kind of hate you for making me think of Orwell, Zamyatin, and (shudder) Rand all at the same time. That was not cool.
10
By order of the Benefactor, all citizens preferring '1984' to 'We' must report to Auditorium 12 for a corrective operation.
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