The Maxims of <i>Nineteen Eighty-Four</i>

Abstract You want to distantly deplore The world of Nineteen Eighty-Four? Peruse it further and you’ll see Some maxims true of you and me. Discussion of Nineteen Eighty-Four has generally focused on its political message, often to the exclusion of other aspects of the book. This essay broadens the discussion by considering a wide range of maxims thought and expressed by the book’s characters and assessing the applicability of these maxims to various nonpolitical aspects of the lives of these characters and to our own lives as well.