1984 (1166 words)

19841984, by George Orwell (Pen Name), is a dystopian (opposite of utopia, imperfect) novel that presents the reader with a sense of despair for the characters. George Orwell, whose actual name is Eric Arthur Blair, was born in Motihari, India, June 25, 1903and died in London, England, January 21,1950. He was a prominent author in the 1940s of two satires that attacked the idea of totalitarianism. The novels and essays and such written in the 1930s established him as an influential voice of the century. Orwells’ parents were members of the Indian Civil Service; he went to college in London and after wards joined the imperial police. During his service, he wrote his first novel, Down and out in Paris and London (1933), was the start of many he wrote within the next seven years. His two most famous novels are Animal Farm (1945) and 1984 (1949), which are both attacking types of government, these two novels brought him his first fame as a writer.

1984, a story of dictators who are in complete control of a large part of the world after the allies lost in World War II. The government in this novel gives no freedoms to its citizens. They live in fear because they are afraid of having corrupt thoughts about the governments of Oceania, a crime punishable by death. Winston, the main character, is a man of 39 whom is not high in either intelligence or character, but is disgusted with the world in which he lives in. Winston represents Orwell’s view on totalitarianism. He works in the Ministry of Truth, which is a place where history and facts- significant or not are rewritten to reflect the party’s idealistic beliefs. They destroy the records of the past; and print up new revised editions, which is being constantly redone. Winston is aware of the untruths, because he makes them true. This makes him very upset with the government of Oceania, where Big Brother, a larger than life figure, controls the people. Big brother is the figurehead of a government that has total control. The Big brother political system uses propaganda and puts fear in its citizens to keep the general population in line. His dissatisfaction increases to a point where he rebels against the government in small ways. Winston’s first act of rebellion is buying and writing in a diary in which he buys from an antique shop run by a prole (lower class of society, Poor). This act is known as a though crime and is punishable by death. A though crime is any bad thought against the government, Winston commits many thought crimes and becomes paranoid about being caught, which he knows is inevitable. He becomes paranoid because a young woman who is actively involved in many community groups follows him. Winston is obsessed with the past, a time before Oceania was under strict dictatorship. He goes into the same antique shop and forms a relationship with the shopkeeper in which he shows Winston a room upstairs which he can rent. While there, he sees the same woman following him, as many thoughts race through his mind about killing her. He decides against it since she would probably fight back. The girl who was following him slipped him a note while in work saying, I love you. They make plans to meet each other and carry on an illegal love affair that lasts for a long period and is committed in many secret places. Winston rents the room where him and the girl, Julia, can be secluded from the outside world. Julia is considered a sexual deviant in the oppressed world of 1984. In the normal world sex is free, in 1984 it is a forbidden act only allowed for reproduction purposes to keep the party’s numbers constant. Julia has been sexually active since her teenage years. “She has had her first love affair when she was sixteen, with a party member of sixty.” Love and sex is not allowed in this totalitarian state so Julia has to look as pure as possible so that she does not show any guilt. Winston had been fascinated about a man named O’Brien who he sees and he contacts Winston