PlotOverview

1984
isaboutaguynamedWinstonSmithwhosi
39yearsold.HelievesinOceaniaandworksasa
recorderseditorinRecordsDepartmentatthe
MinistryofTruth.Helivesinadystopianworld
controlledbyBigBrother.BigBrothercontrols
everythingandisalwayswatching.Citizenslivein
fearthattheThoughtPolicewillgetthemat
anytimeandtakethemaway.Winston,however,
isnttoofondofBigBrotherandrebelsinsecretby
writingdownhisthoughtsinadiary.Hediscoversa
shopwhichselllsitemsfromthepastandtheplace
hegotthediary.Onedayatwork,agirlsecretly
giveshimanotewhichsays,Iloveyou.Juliais26
yearsoldandisaparticipantintheTwoMinutes
Hate.Theyfallinloveandmeetattheshopwhere
Winstonboughtthediarysoasnottogetcaught.
BothrebellingagainstBigBrother.Alongtheway
theymeetamannamedOBrienwhoisstrange
andmysterious.HeworksintehInnerPartybut
saystobelikethem.Hesaysheispartofan
undergroundgroupthatisagainstBigBrother.He
asksthembothtojoin,whichtheybothagreeon.
OnedayasJuliaandWinstonaretogetherina
roomsomethingterriblehappens.TheThought
Policediscoversthemandtakesthembothaway.
Mr.CharringtonwaspartoftheThoughtPoliceand
itwasatrapallalong.Theygetseparatedand
Winstonfindshimselfwithotherprisoners.OBrien
wasalsoaliarthattrickedbothWinstonandJulia.
OBrientoturedWinstontothebrinkofdeath
changinghimintoadifferentman.Heawaitshi
endingtoseeifhewillmakeitoutaliveordead.

AbouttheAuthor

GeorgeOrwellwasbornin1903,inMotihari,India
toamiddleclassfamily,knownasEricArthurBlair.
Orwellwaseducatedinoneofthebestboarding
schoolsinEngland,buthealwaysfeltthathenever
reallyfitin.Theauthorwitnessedthepolitical
prejudics,howthepeoplewereforcedunderstrict
lawasandtookhispersonalexperiencetowritehis
book.The1903book,
ThePeopleofAbyss,
written
byJackLondonwasaworkthatinspiredOrwell
whilewritinghisownbook.Someotherworksthat
Orwellwroteare:
DownandOutinParisand
London,ComingupforAir,AnimalFarm,etc...H
e
wrotehisbooktoexpresshisfearfortheoutcome
ofthefuture,aswellas,sharehispoliticalviews
withhisreaders.Orwellwassickmostofhislife
anddiedoftuberculosisonJanuary21,1950.

HistoricalContext

NovelNotes

1984

GeorgeOrwell

EdgarLicup

5/14/16

EssentialQuotes

WARISPEACE,FREEDOMISSLAVERY,

IGNORANCEISSTRENGTH(Orwell104).
GeorgeOrwellwrote1984duringthe1940safter

thesecondWorldWarinordertoserveasa
Everyrecordhasbeendestroyedorfalsified,every
warningtohisaudience.Helivedthroughaperiod
bookhasbeenrewritten,everypicturehasbeen
oftimewhenSpain,Germany,andothercountries
repainted,everystatueandstreetandbuildinghad
hadatyrantthatheldtotalpoweroveritscitizens.
EspeciallyGermanyundertheruler,Hitler,andwas beenrenamed,everydatehadbeenaltered(155).
abletowitnessallthehorrifyingthingshedid.After
WorldWarII,theexonomygotbetterandledto
AddWorkCitedHere:
rebuildingofschools,andmanyotherbuildings.
GeorgeOrwellBiography.
Bio.com.
A&E
Whoinspiredaveryimportantcharacterinhis
NetworksTelevision,n.d.Web.19May2016.
book,BigBrothermarethetwoterrifyingleaders,
GeorgeOrwell(19031950).
BBCNews.B
BC,
HitlerandStalin.Usingtraitsofthetworeal
n.d.Web.19May2016.
dictators,Orwellwasabletolethisaudience
understandhowmuchhedespisedtotalitarian
governments.

CharacterAnalysis

WinstonSmith:
A39yearoldwhowasarecordereditorinthe
RecordsDepartmentattheMinistryofTruth.
MarriedtoKatherine.HedidntagreewithBig
Brotherandrebelledagainstit.Hefellinlovewitha
girlnamedJulia.Theyhadasecretaffairandtrue
love.Hehadnokidsandhelovedtosmoke.He
thoughtdifferentlythantherest.Histhoughtswere
deeperandalwaysquestioningwhy.
BigBrother:
NoonehasactuallyseenBigBrother,buthes
knowntobetheleaderofOceania.
Julia:
MistressofWinstonSmith,Julia,whosalso
againstthePartysdoctrineandmeetswithSmith
torebelagainstPart,Juliaappearstobeabeautiful
brunette,tenyearsyoungerthanWinstonandonly
enjoysthethrillofresistingagainsttehParty,not
wantingtochangedsociety.Alsocapturedand
torturedtothepointthatshebecomesloyaltoBig
Brother.
OBrien:

LeadsWinstonandJuliatobelievethathespart
oftheBrotherhood,anorganizationthatplans
againsttheParty.Aftertheywerecapturedhe
revealsthatheispartoftheInnerParty,andwas
spyingonthemtoseetheirrebelliousthoughtsand
actions.OBrienisWinstonspersonaltorturerand
teachesWinstonaboutBigBrother.Heisthe
reasonWinstonbecomesdevotedtoBigBrother.

Themes

MotifsandSymbols

Manipulation:

Therightamountofmanipulationcantotally
changeaperson.OBrienmanipulatedWinstonso
muchthathebetrayedJuliaandthePartyhewas
soagainst,helearnedtolove.
Oppressiveness:
Thedystopiansociety,Oceania,hasbeenforced
undercompletecontroloftheoppressivePartyand
BigBrother.CitizensmustsubmittoParty,and
havenofreedombyhavingrestrictionsofactions,
words,andthoughts.Nofreedomtoexpresssuch
feelingstakesawaywhatmakesthemhuman.
ControlofHistory:
Citizenswerenotallowedtokeepanythingfrom
thepast.Asaresult,memoriesbecomefuzzyand
citizensareperfectlywillingtobelieveinanything.
BigBrotheralsochangedhistorybytellingliesand
havingworkersdistributethem.

Diary:
ThediaryrepresentedwhoWinstonrebelled
againstBigBrother.Itrepresentshisdesireto
breakfree,Heisunabletospeakhismindand
doesthisbywritingdownhisthoughts,Intheworld
helivedinhewasntabletospeakfreely,sothe
bookwashisworldwhichhehadcontrol.
BigBrother:
Somebody,orsomethingthatsymbolizesmany
thingsthroughoutthestorysuchas,adeadly
threattothecitizensandthedictator.Peopleare
notexactlysureifBigBrotheractuallyexistsbut
hesconstantlymentionedasaGoldlikefigurewho
canseeeverything.