Glad I'm not the only one who (re-)reads 1984 and is overwhelmed by the parallels to life as a JW.
The amazing thing is: the first time I read it I was still in, and I didn't see the parallels! I naively thought "wow, what a terrible situation to live in such a controlling, stifling way."
HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO BLIND?
The Botting book was one of the first "apostate" books I read when exiting.
=========================== For interesting Watchtower Society literature quotes, complete with references but without any editorial, check out: http://Quotes.JehovahsWitnesses.com
Had no idea that Amazon had that book - will go buy it. It's a keeper.
Hello, Quotes,
Nice to meet you. I read "1984" originally around 1969, while still studying with the jw's. Nadda a clue gathered from it. Stayed a jw for 30 long years.
An intelligent jw gave it to me (my grandmother in law) - she had just read it. Nadda a clue gathered from it. She remained an strong jw till her death 20 yrs. later.
Who knows what will trigger a person? Obviously, not always "1984".
I too read 1984 in high school and never forgot it. One day at a service meeting (late 70's) they were discussing confessing sins and if you see a wrong committed it's your duty to come forward to the elders. Even children were to turn in their parents, that triggered a memoire of the 1984 book that I quickly dismissed because of the new "truth" I was learning. Had I only known then how closely the witnesses and Orwells book paralleled each other!
Yes I also can thank Orwell for his fine work of fiction. Maybe he studied to be a witless ? lol
It's uncanny, but in the book it was called 'doublethink.' That's how a JW can read the book, but not see the parallels with his own world, or if as HoChiMin did, just dismiss it. Just blink your eyes and say it isn't so.
However, when the 9/11 bombing at the World Trade Center happened and there was so much info on the Taliban, my oldest son could not help but draw comparisons with the WTBS. He started walking away from the dubs at that time.
Pat UADNA-CA(Unseen Apostate Directorate of North America-California)
