NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR

In Nineteen Eighty-Four Orwell presented a devastating critique of totalitarianism, warning against the violation of liberty and helping his readers to recognize tyranny in all its forms. The main achievement of this book is therefore the original and informative account Orwell gives of the political mechanism of totalitarianism: the methods by which thought is controlled, privacy invaded, personal resistance broken down. In this novel the main character is Winston Smith. He lived in London which was the capital of the state Oceania. The world was divided into three states that included the entire globe: Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia. Oceania, like the others states, was a totalitarian society led by Big Brother, which censors everyone’s behavior, even their thoughts. The Party of this state had absolute control of the press, communication and propaganda. When a person rebelled against the Party, it punished people whit prison, torture and liquidation. The three slogans of the Party were: war is peace- freedom is slavery- ignorance is strength. Winston worked at the Ministry of Truth where he altered the records of the past to fit current Party policy. Winston was disgusted with his oppressed life and secretly longs to join the fabled Brotherhood, a supposed group of rebels intent on overthrowing the government. Winston met Julia. She worked with Winston at the Ministry of Truth. They secretly fell in love, because fall in love was considered a crime. Julia hated the party as much as Winston. Big Brother, the mysterious all-seeing, all-knowing leader of the totalitarian society was a godlike icon to the citizens he rules. He was never seen in person, just staring out of posters and telescreens, looking stern as the caption beneath his image warned “Big Brother is watching you”. Stalin was the image of Big Brother. Stalin was a despotic dictator in Russia. Stalin ruled with an iron fist and was famous for his purges: he would round up hundreds of citizens at a time and murder them in deserted areas, just like Oceania citizens are “vaporized”. He became suspicious of Winston and he was therefore watched by O’Brien. He was an intelligent executive at the Ministry of Truth and he was a member of the Inner Party. After a bit of casual conversation at the work place, he invited Winston to his house, where he gave him the impressions that he was a member of the Brotherhood and he promised to help Winston, but this was a trap for Winston. A day Winston and Julia were discovered and they were interrogated. Winston tortured and mentally murdered so badly that at the end he loved Big Brother, and couldn't think a single thought without the permission of the party. Winston was tortured by his “teacher” O’Brien. Winston turned out to be a textbook case of a person reformed by the party. He was completely mentally dead. He could think or act for himself, and he was merely a toy of the party. He was useless to anyone (including the party), and might as well be put to death, but was kept alive, probably as a trophy to Big Brother.