1984 - Book Summary

Visit us at https://www.gradesaver.com/1984/study... to read the full video transcript and our study guide for this classic novel, which includes a full list of characters, themes, and much more.

In the novel 1984, author George Orwell presents a dystopian world where three totalitarian states—Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia—exist constantly at war with each other. The parties use technological advancements to keep their own members and the masses under careful observation and constant control. The novel's protagonist, Winston Smith, is a citizen of the super-state Oceania—an oligarchy of hierarchical rule under the principles of English Socialism known as Ingsoc.

The Party consists of Inner Party members, who are the ruling elite, and regular Party members, who are citizens of Oceania. The Party's leader, Big Brother, displays massive images of his kind throughout London. The images, complete with dark hair and a substantial mustache, often include the words "Big Brother is Watching You."

Winston works in the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth, which handles all Party literature and propaganda, altering or destroying documents from the Party once published. He often throws evidence into a “memory hole” where it is sucked into the building's internal furnaces. These actions ensure that the Party's version of the Past is never questioned. Such alterations often remove a person from history or make previously flawed predictions accurate.

The other three ministries are the Ministry of Love, which handles all Party prisoners; the Ministry of Peace, which handles war; and the Ministry of Plenty, which manages the production of Party goods. These state-indorsed products include Victory cigarettes, Victory gin, and Victory coffee, all of which are of extremely poor quality.

Winston has never quite accepted the Party and its ideological principles of Ingsoc. He believes in an unalterable past and finds Party politics reprehensible. Winston wishes for privacy, intimacy, freedom, and love but cannot openly express any of this for fear of death. Such thoughts constitute "thought crimes," which are highly punishable offenses resulting in arrest, imprisonment, torture, and often death.

When the book opens, Winston is writing in a diary inside his meager apartment where a telescreen transmits Party information and propaganda. This state-run spying device also allows the propaganda team, known as the “Thought Police,” to listen to and watch Party members in Oceania. Winston is fortunate to have a small nook in his apartment out of the view of the telescreen. There he writes his true memories in a diary purchased from an old junk shop, all related to his life and the violence of the Party which is quite common in the age of Oceania. Penning these thoughts is punishable by death if he is caught.

At the Ministry of Truth Winston sits through the daily “Two Minutes Hate,” which rails against Oceania's enemy, Eurasia. The propaganda is so powerful that the people around him begin shouting at the screen. Of course, Winston must join in to avoid suspicion.

Finding himself increasingly curious about the past, Winston returns to the junk shop where he bought his diary. The proprietor, a kind old man named Mr. Charrington, shows him a room above the shop and Winston imagines what it might be like to live there among old things, free from the constant presence of the telescreen.

One day, at the Ministry of Truth, a dark-haired girl named Julia, trips and falls to ground in front of Winston. As he helps here to her feet, she slips him a note declaring her love for him. Winston is astounded, but extremely excited by the possibility of a love affair. The affair must be secret, as the Party forbids any sort of sexual pleasure. In fact, sexual repression is a tenet of Ingsoc. The Party must approve every marriage, and it is unacceptable for a man and a woman to express any physical attraction for one another. All energy must be devoted to the Party.

With a great deal of effort to remain undetected, Julia and Winston finally meet in a secluded clearing in a wooded area. Winston learns Julia’s name for the first time. They discuss their beliefs regarding the Party then begin their love affair. At one point, Winston notices that the secluded spot she has led them to exactly matches a place he constantly sees in his dreams that he has termed the “Golden Country.” Winston and Julia are limited to public interactions and minimal conversations, but the two discover a mutual hatred of the Party and eventually fall in love. Winston believes that it is possible to overthrow the Party, while Julia is satisfied simply living a double life. Eventually, Winston rents the room above Mr. Charrington's flat where Winston and Julia meet in secret.

Visit us at www.gradesaver.com to read the full transcript and learn more the classic novel: https://www.gradesaver.com/1984/study...