

I am again asking for those who would like to join the U.L.S.,the Underground Library Society, to join and write a guest post. I put this request out several times over the course of a year, because I hope to have more people join in the cause.
In an earlier First Year Class at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, The U.L.S. — The Underground Library Society — was created. It is in the spirit of the Book People from Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. In that novel, all books have been banned, and a few people “become” books by memorizing them, in the hope that, one day, books will be permitted to exist again.
I am again teaching the subject of banned books and censorship, and my students will take part in this organization, and I hope that many of you do also. My students will create posters about the book they choose, put them up at various places on campus, do a blog post on the project, memorize one paragraph form their chosen books, and then give a short presentation about the work at the end of the semester.
In that spirit, I am putting out the call once more for like-minded people to join The U.L.S. All that is needed is to choose a book you would memorize if the need ever arose. The type or genre of the chosen piece does not matter. There is no restriction on what you would become. You do not, however, actually have to memorize the book now. You do not need to create a poster, although if you do, I ask only that you use the logo of the U.L.S. on this page. If you wish to join, simply write a guest post in which you say what book you would “become” and why.
I hope many of you choose to join.
In the past, I have mentioned that I would become one of the following books: The Lord Of The Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, or Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.
If you do wish to do a post, please email me at frenchc1955@yahoo.com and write a guest post as a Word doc. Thank you.
Charles F. French
I am looking forward to hearing from new members!
Thank you to Robbie Cheadle for her post on 1984 by George Orwell. With this entry, Robbie has joined the U. L. s., the Underground Library Society, dedicated to opposing book censorship and book banning. Please visit her blog Robbie’s inspiration .
If a society similar to that depicted in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury were to somehow come into existence and all books were banned, I would want to be part of any group involved in preserving books. If that meant learning a book off by heart, I would be prepared to do that. The big question for me would be what book to choose.
Out of all the wonderful and amazing books out there, my choice is 1984 by George Orwell. My over view of this book and my reasons as to why I believe it is still relevant to us are as follows:
1984 is a dystopian novel that was written years ago to portray a possible future for mankind as envisaged by the author in 1949. Why would anyone want to read this book now? 1984 passed more than thirty years ago so why would this book still be a worthwhile read today? The answer is that the content and ideas presented in this book are still relevant and it portrays a future that is still a possible outcome for humanity if the threats to our existing lifestyles and our planet are not resolved and harsh totalitarian measures need to be introduced as a last desperate measure to save our world. The threat of world destruction using nuclear weapons is much less likely now than in 1949, but modern people merely face new threats and obstacles which are also of our own creation.
1984 is set in a world where the inhabited landmasses are divided into three significant superpowers, all of which are ruled by political parties where the systems of government are centralized and dictatorial and require complete subservience to the state by their citizens. The three superpowers are continuously at war and their populations live in a state of perpetual deprivation and fear of being bombed. The reason for this state of affairs becomes clear to the reader at a later stage in the book.
Winston Smith, the hero of the story, is a member of the Party and this requires him to believe in their political mandate completely and entirely. No questioning of Party doctrine is tolerated in any form and the party has methods of policing every aspect of their members’ lives including their thoughts and dreams. Every party member has an invasive screen, in the manner of a modern television, which the party can access to spy on the activities of its members. Party members are encouraged to suppress any sexual feelings other than the need to reproduce and children belong to clubs and groups where they are effectively turned against their parents and encouraged to spy on them for the state. In this way, the Party has broken down all the natural human bonds and relationships and turned people into lonely individuals with no way of forming into dissenting groups.
Winston is a thoughtful man with a high intellect whose job involves changing previously printed news articles and books to recreate the past in the manner dictated by the current wants of the Party. Nothing is safe from intervention by the Party, which is represented by a giant picture of “Big Brother”. Even the dictionary is continuously being re-written to delete unnecessary words and party members are encourage to use a reduced version of language know as New Speak.
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
― George Orwell, 1984
He questions the society he lives in with its continuous deprivation and lack of emotions and relationships. He thinks that things must have been better in the past. Winston believes that there is a brotherhood of dissenters who are working to overthrow the party. He believes one of its member’s is an inner party member whom he has interacted with by the name of O’Brien.
Winston decides to start recording his thoughts and ideas in a blank book, an action that is against Party rules, in case he ever gets the opportunity to share them with O’Brien and join the brotherhood.
Winston meets a young woman called, Julia, who is also a dissenter in her own young and uncomplicated way. Julia does not share Winston’s belief that the Party could be overthrown and a better life for people re-created. Julia’s approach is to breach Party rules and take the freedoms she desires in a non-confrontational way. Despite their significant differences in age and attitudes, Julia and Winston become physically involved and fall in love. This is against Party doctrine where the marriage of couples has to be approved and would not be if the couple were strongly attracted to each other.
Winston and Julia both know that they are risking their lives with their affair and other behaviours and, despite knowing the harsh consequences, are prepared to take the chance.
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.”
― George Orwell, 1984
The reason I believe this book is still so relevant is because we are living in a world on the brink of massive climate crisis and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Drastic action by the governments of the world will be required in the foreseeable future to remedy these massive issues. How will governments do this without taking decisive steps to control population growth and consumerism? If you think about these problems, the world of Winston Smith doesn’t seem so impossible.
To take this thought process one step further, we may already been on the slippery slope towards a totalitarian government. Our current environment of increasing nationalism, nativism and opposition to immigration, indicate that many people of moving away from the inclusive new world order that world leaderships worked towards in the aftermath of World War II. Have we forgotten the horrors of this war and the devastation and inhuman activities that took place? I think this book may be more valid now than ever before.
“Now I will tell you the answer to my question. It is this. The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from the oligarchies of the past in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just around the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now you begin to understand me.”
― George Orwell, 1984
Once again, thank you to Robbie Cheadle!
(https://commons.wikimedia.org)
(Moritz Daniel Oppenheim)
(https://commons.wikimedia.org)
This week is National Banned Books Week–an important time to focus on the risks of books being banned and challenged.
In an earlier First Year Class at Lehigh University, The U.L.S. — The Underground Library Society — was created. It is in the spirit of the Book People from Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. In that novel, all books have been banned, and a few people “become” books by memorizing them, in the hope that, one day, books will be permitted to exist again.
In that spirit, I am putting out the call once more for like-minded people to join The U.L.S. All that is needed is to choose a book you would memorize if the need ever arose. You do not actually have to memorize the book now. If you wish to join, simply write a guest post in which you say what book you would “become” and why.
I hope many of you choose to join.
(https://commons.wikimedia.org)
As the creator of the ULS, The Underground Library Society, and at the request of several followers, I have decided to put up lists of books that have been banned or challenged. If a book is challenged, that usually means there were people who wanted it removed from a school or library. Both are forms of book censorship. It is important to note that I am not focusing only on books banned or challenged in the United States of America; unfortunately, censorship is a world wide action.
Here is my initial list of banned and challenged books:
The entire Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling;
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee;
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain;
Beloved by Toni Morrison;
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie;
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger;
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck;
All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque;
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown; and
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak.
I will add more lists of banned and challenged books in the future.
Personal Blog
This is the website for the pre-existing writing of Christopher Pryor, a writer that writes mostly in Oregon. He is currently writing a novel in verse that he is publishing serially on the blog page of this website. He wanted me to tell you that he wishes you nothing but green lights and blue skies and that he hopes you will enjoy the poems. But only to those having taken a moment to read them. He can be reached proximally or distally at christopherpryor52 @ gmail dot com.
Briefe an einen geliebten Menschen
musings of a midlifer
Be with you
Stories by Aminat
Scary stories & Twisted tales
MichelleBookAddict here Reading 1 Page A Day... and other little things I love
Creative Writing
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts
Luxury for Comfortable Living and Good Life Through Designs, Style, Travel, Food
Books and music - It's all about words!
Atmospheric Mind Flow
Let’s talk about our perfectly dysfunctional life!
My author, crafter, artist, and project blog.
Writing Through This Crazy Life
Just another WordPress.com weblog
Watch it or Skip it
My dreams are my inspiration for my writing.
Savouries, sweetmeats, and assorted nibbly things
Sunshine and inspiration for the globally minded
This site is a blog where I reflect on my learning as a student on the MA in Technical Communication and E-Learning at University of Limerick.
Some sharings along the road
100% of interpretations are your own.
Has sentido que...
Make Hugs Not War.
Where procrastination and life’s muses collide head-on
Proud to be a Navodayan
THE CREATIVE PALACE FOR ARTISTS AND AUTHOR RESOURCES
Serendipity Happens
Finding spiritual enrichment in retirement
The official blog of J.R. Underdown
Thoughts, experiences, personal musings.
𝔖𝔯𝔢ć𝔞 𝔫𝔦𝔧𝔢 𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔩 𝔯𝔞𝔷𝔲𝔪𝔞, 𝔳𝔢ć 𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔩 𝔪𝔞š𝔱𝔢!
The paltry sum of a life on the road
Rambling Journeys in Britain with John Bainbridge
A website to share with you primarily some of my poems, speak about writing and inspiration. Additionally, this is a place to talk about some of my other passions including taekwondo, reading, travelling and how to live your life to the fullest, by bringing in the surface the best of yourself every day. Blog articles are published weekly on Sunday evening CET. Whenever time allows, I publish in between posts and poems, so please follow my Blog to receive notifications per email.
Lipsa de comunicare este mai profundă și mai nocivă decât orice altă lipsă. Prețuiți ceea ce aveți deja! Pornesc într-o nouă zi din viață…fie ca aceasta (și toate celelalte)să fie o zi bună Pentru Tine LUME!
Capturing life.
Your right and left brain can work together sometimes. Art, writing & the outdoors are what I love!
immagina un mondo di amore teatrale
E*X*P*L*O*R*A*T*I*O*N*S
Con music-pedia personale filmata incorporata risuonata dal sottoscritto.