Re: Hey little lad, will you spy on Charlie for me?
 

I definitely have to agree. The book has way too many insights to be just ignored.
I'd actually not only have them read it, but also write an essay on it, so that they really read it instead of just nagging an excerpt somewhere :P

Re: Hey little lad, will you spy on Charlie for me?
 

It's not just the youngins either. It's people my age, your age, and older as well.

You could have various messages blared out of a loud-speaker and people would be none the wiser:

"Here's a job. Here's a television. Here's a mall. Work, plop, shop. Work, plop, shop. Work, plop, shop. Keep buying shit, you fucking morons! Do your national duty and become a worthless over-consumptive twat. Here's an IPHONE to keep you dazzled while we plunder your bank account. Here's an anti-depressant to sedate and please you as we force your world to get smaller and smaller."

And so on and so forth.

I think two things might happen. Either the streets will become sparkling clean or they will be filled to the brim with refuse. Think of what happened to the city of Naples during the garbage strike and multiply that by five.

Re: Hey little lad, will you spy on Charlie for me?
 

"Keep buying shit, you fucking morons! Do your national duty and become a worthless over-consumptive twat."

Jeffro, I'm stealing this and putting on the back of my car.:bows:

Re: Hey little lad, will you spy on Charlie for me?
 

I really enjoyed that book. We didn't do it in class, but I read it on the recommendation of my English teacher, and I thought it was awesome.

Re: Hey little lad, will you spy on Charlie for me?
 

Wasnt this part of 1984? Where kids would rat out their parents if they displayed views against the party?

Then again, wasnt this a part of communistic thought period?

Re: Hey little lad, will you spy on Charlie for me?
 

little brother is watching.

Re: Hey little lad, will you spy on Charlie for me?
 

Yep on both accounts.
Although the Commies were more known for collective blame. But before 1936, they did bring forth a number of laws to attempt to destroy the traditional family.
Easy way to get abortion, easy way to get a divorce and a large number of others.
Of course, by 36, they completely turned around and it was almost impossible to get either only making divorce more humane around the sixties.

Also correct on 1984. Probably one could mention tow things there.
a) The girl (sadly utterly forgot the names of the characters) and how she grew up in those collective dorms, the ideology being pushed into her.
b) The main characters neighbor - the main character encounters him in minilove prior to going into room 101. The neighbor is actually proud of his kids, that they turned him in.
Of course, keep in mind that 1984 was showcasting the true face of communism, communism that dropped it's ideology facade and instead had only one left - power.
To achieve this, it created 3 nations in perpetual war, 3 classes (the relatively free but stupid proletariat, the outer party (probably the ones on which ideology was used) and the inner party, who again enjoyed relative freedoms, high power, knew more of the truth of things than the outer party, but for whom the party equaled religion.

Another really good author that captured communism very well was Vonnegut.
In two short stories.
a) One about a world were the smart, the beautifull, and all those who had biological bonuses had to have handicaps in order to assure equality.
b) Another one, were one of the aspiring english gentlemen who talked about socialism and communism in one of the better of pubs reached the future and was able to witness rampant communism in action.
After he came back and others asked him, if they truly abolished religion, he said that no, they have merely found a new one - equality.

Re: Hey little lad, will you spy on Charlie for me?
 

well, we just got finished reading red scarf girl in class. it was about a girl in the cultural revolution and how children with a bad family background could become Red Gaurds if they ratted out their families or by breaking away from them by changing their names, or by publicly humiliating them.

Re: Hey little lad, will you spy on Charlie for me?
 

I didnt like animal farm.

Not 1 bit.