"1984" is actually a novel that I hate ! By which I mean that I admire it tremendously, and feel that it is a classic, but I find it so depressing that I have never been able to bring myself to teach it. The atmosphere of the novel is so profoundly gray and oppressive - conveying the sense of being trapped helplessly within a system which is de-personalised, cruel, and indifferent to any personal dreams or pleasures....