I've taught both books at school, and I bet the clever kids are seeing what's happening and understanding it's edging toward totalatarianism. Everyone else is frogs in ponds. I'll nevre forget the scene with Winston finding a spot away from the surveillance in his room. He repeats himself a lot and I do wish he had consdensed it a little, but the dread in that novel sticks when you're a teenager. You never forget it.