PlotOverview

1984tellsthestoryofofWinstonSmith,a39
yearoldguywholivesinacountrycalledOceania.
worksasarecorder'seditorinRecordsDepartment
attheMinistryofTruth.Helivesinadystopian
societythatiscontrolledbyaleadercalledBig
Brother.Oceaniaisatotalitariangovernmentthat
controlseverysingleaspectofitscivilianslives.
Thetelevisionsaroundtheentirecountryaresecret
camerasthatspyeverycitizens.thereareThought
Policewhotakeawaypeoplewhoareguiltyof
thoughtcrime,whicharecontroversialor
philosophicalthoughts.Anewlanguageisusedby
thegovernmenttolimitpeoplesthoughts.The
governmentconstantlyeditshistoryandusesitto
manipulatethemasses.Winstonisagainstthis
formofgovernment,andasanactofrebellionhe
goesoutintoapawnshopandbuysajournaland
writesinit,whichisforbidden.Onedayatwork,a
girlsecretlygiveshimanotewhichsays,Ilove
you.Juliais26yearsoldandisaparticipantinthe
TwoMinutesHate.Theyfallinloveandmeetatthe
shopwhereWinstonboughtthediarysoasnotto
getcaught.BothrebellingagainstBigBrother.Along
thewaytheymeetamannamedOBrienwhois
strangeandmysterious.HeworksintheInner
Partybutsaystobelikethem.Hesaysheispartof
anundergroundgroupthatisagainstBigBrother.
Heasksthembothtojoin,whichtheybothagree
on.OnedayasJuliaandWinstonaretogetherin
aroomsomethingterriblehappens.TheThought
Policediscoversthemandtakesthembothaway.
Mr.CharringtonwaspartoftheThoughtPoliceand
itwasatrapallalong.Theygetseparatedand
Winstonfindshimselfwithotherprisoners.O'Brien
wasalsoaliarthattrickedbothWinstonandJulia.
OBrientorturesWinstontothebrinkofdeath
changinghimintoadifferentman.Heawaits
headingtoseeifhewillmakeitoutaliveordead.

AbouttheAuthor

NovelNotes

1984

GeorgeOrwell

EricArthurBlairwasborninMotihari,Bengal,India.
HewasoriginallyEnglish,buthisfather,aBritish
civilservant,wasstationedinIndia.Hismothertook
himtoHenleyOnThames,England,leavinghis
fatherbehind.Beingaloneatschoolmostofthe
time,hesatdowninhisleisuretimeandwrote
smallpoemsunderthepennameGeorgeOrwell.
Thishelpedhimforafewyearsbeforegoingto
EtonCollege.Hewasbrokeafterexitingcollege
andbecameapoliceofficerinhisbirthlandin1922.
Themoneyheinvestedatthetimewasusedto
returntoIndiaandbecomeawriter.Fromthatpoint
on,hisbookswereunderthepennameGeorge
Orwell.

HistoricalContext

Thenoveltakesplaceinthenearfutureinanation
calledOceania(Englandinthenearfuture).
Althoughthetitleis1984,thetimeisnot
mentionedinthebook,butreaderscanassume
thatthenoveltakesplacearoundthattime.The
governmentinthisnoveliscompletelytotalitarian,
asthegovernmentsendsouttroopsandThought
Policeofficerstokeepclosewatchovertheir
civilians.Inthisnovel,doingsomethingaslittleas
writingortalkingbadaboutthegovernmentcanget
youaspotinprison,orontheexecutionlist.The
economyisntverygoodinthisnoveleither.There
arepartsofthestorywhereWinstontalksabout
howmanypeoplewalkbarefootbecausetheycant
affordshoes,orhowfoodrationsriseanddropat
randommomentsduetothemoneyinvestedon
trooptrainingandotherformsofmakingsure

EmilioSanchez

23May2016

EssentialQuotes

WARISPEACE,FREEDOMISSLAVERY,
IGNORANCEISSTRENGTH(Orwell104).

Everyrecordhasbeendestroyedorfalsified,every
bookhasbeenrewritten,everypicturehasbeen
repainted,everystatueandstreetandbuildinghad
beenrenamed,everydatehadbeenaltered(155).

civiliansstayinthegovernmentssight.

CharacterAnalysis

Themes

WinstonSmith:
athin,frail,contemplative,
intellectual,andfatalisticthirtynineyearold.Heis
alowrankingmemberofthePartyandheis
employedattheMinistryofTruth.Winstonhates
thetotalitariancontrolandenforcedrepressionthat
arecharacteristic
ofhisgovernment.Heharbors
revolutionarydreams.Winstonisextremelypensive
andcurious,desperatetounderstandhowandwhy
thePartyexercisessuchabsolutepowerin
Oceania.

Julia:

abeautifuldarkhairedgirlworkinginthe
FictionDepartmentattheMinistryofTruth.Juliais
pragmaticandoptimistic.Herrebellionagainstthe
Partyissmallandpersonal,forherownenjoyment,
incontrasttoWinstonsideologicalmotivation.She
isWinstonsloverandhadanaffairwithhim
becausesherebelsagainstthepartybyhavingsex
withhim.

OBrien:
Amysterious,powerful,andsophisticated
memberoftheInnerPartywhomWinstonbelieves
isalsoamemberoftheBrotherhood,thelegendary
groupofantiPartyrebels.Heendsupbetraying
Winstonandrevealsthathewastryingtotrap
Winstoninanopenactofrebellionsohecould
capturehim.

Manipulation:
BigBrothermanipulatesthe
membersofthePartyandthecitizensofOceania
tomakethembelieveanythingthatthepartywants
tobelieve.Themassesinturncompletelyobeythe
propagandaandmessagesthatthegovernment
enforceonthem.Also,thegovernmentwatches
everybodytomakesurethateveryoneisfollowing
therules,andiftheydonttheyaredissolved.

FearofTotalitarianism:
GeorgeOrwellwrotethis
bookaround1949attheendoftheSecondWorld
War.Thisentirebookwaswrittenasawarningto
thepublicoftheeffectsthattotalitarian
governmentsliketheoneinthestorycanleadto
dystopianfuturesliketheoneinthestory.This
bookisprobablybasedonthetotalitarian
governmentoftheSovietUnion.

ControlofInformationandHistory:
Oneofthe
mainwaysthegovernmentmanipulatesthe
massesisthattheyconstantlychangebooksand
newspaperstoalterhistoryintotheirfavor.Thisis
effectivebecausethenmemoriesbecomefuzzyin
themindsofthecitizensandtheydonthaveany
prooftousetocalloutthegovernmentonanyofits
lies.

MotifsandSymbols

TheJournal:
ThejournalrepresentsWinstons
veryfirstactofrebellionagainstBigBrother.He
hasthedesiretospeakhismindandrevealhis
thoughtsandbreakfreefromthecompletecontrol
thatthegovernmentofOceaniahasonhislife.So
Winstonusesthejournaltofreehisthoughtsand
speakdownofBigBrother.

BigBrother:
Inthestory,thecharactersdoubt
whetherBigBrotherreallyevenexistsornot
becauseeveryoneonlyseeshiminportraitsalong
thecity.BigBrothersfacerepresentsthepublic
manifestationofthePartyanditsstrong
leadership.Itservestoconfortthemassesandput
anallpowerfulgodlikefigureintheirmindsthat
theywouldneverdaretogoagainst