Nat Sauteed
George Orwell’s epic book “1984,” is one one the few books that is` still relevant for teaching in today’s advanced educational system. One of the many reasons for its relevance in our day was its prediction of totalitarianism as a system of government. And how media manipulation was created, used to exploit and control the people.
In this piece written by Orwell, the plot was set in Oceania, which was one of the warring totalitarian states that existed only in the book’s world. In this book, the citizens of this state were brainwashed to submit obedience to “Big Brother,” the current government. This review explains the summary of this piece. There are several essays on 1984 online available to students researchers and scholars as well. The essay example in 1984, is now the basis of research for many scholars and students across most colleges and universities. Till date, many still think that George wrote this piece as a warning regarding the menaces of Nazism and Stalinism. You will learn more from the summary below.
SUMMARY
Winston Smith is the hero in this book by George Orwell, titled “1984”. You can get the book here. He served as a minor party functionary in London. London, in this case, only existed in the book’s world as part of Oceania and not the England we know today. According to George, the place was still recovering from the shackles of nuclear war that occurred shortly after World War II. Winston’s inner desire for Truth led him to go in rebellion against the current government, “Big Brother.”
Winston was an active worker in the ministry of Truth’s record department. He returned home one day and went to a hidden spot where the telescreen (a monitoring device by the government) could not see him. Right there, he began to narrate his eye witness account of a violent film. By the time he finished writing, he realizes that all he wrote had to do with Big Brother and its mind control tyranny. Fear gripped him, and for once, he thought he could get caught.
Then, he heard a gentle knock on the door. It was Mrs. Parsons, a neighbor who came to seek help to unblock her sink. Her Husband was also a party member. He quickly helped her and returned to his work, but he couldn’t continue writing as thoughts regarding the party’s control of information engulfs his mind. To get these thoughts off his mind, he tried to update his record by destroying the old ones and attempting to alter newspaper reports.
He also kept a diary of his record. In this diary, Winston raised many points. One of which was that if only the Proles would become politically aware, they can overthrow the party. He also revealed that the system of living was far worse than that of the pre-revolution. But the citizens might not see these because the party now controls all information and they have had success in falsifying everything. He felt sad about the entire outcome and the fact that he could do nothing other than to write about his ordeal.
Winston believed he has the vision to live up to each day. He did not believe the lies the government fed its citizens with for many years. He desired to become free from the influence of this dystopia government. Not just him, he wanted the majority of the citizens to become free as well. Most times, he tried to rebel, but this desire was always suppressed by the thought that he might get caught and Big Brother will take actions against him. He knew the government had established a secret Police Force that deals with anyone who dares to question the activities of the government.
While at work, Winston meets Julia. Not minding the risks of drawing the attention of the authorities, he willingly revealed his political intention to her. He later discovered that Julia was equally a rebel just like him. They both started a secret affair. This was an illegal act in Oceania because Julia was a member of the Junior Anti-Sex League.
Later on, both of them became friends with O’Brien, another rebel, who invited Winston and Julia over to his place. Winston thought he had just met a good friend and quickly honored the invitation. Unfortunately, he discovered that O’Brien was a Force man working undercover for the Thought Police. He had spent the past seven years trailing Winston and his rebellious acts against Big Brother.
Both Julia and Winston were arrested, and Winston was severely tortured by O’Brien, who was the leader of the torturing squad of the Thought Police. Julia was taken away, but Winston resisted all forms of torture and openly confessed to O’Brien that he disliked Big Brother.
He was then transferred to Room 101. And O’Brien released a cage containing rats over his head. Winston was terrified and begged to be released and have Julia kept there instead. After spending a long time in prison, he was “cured” of his beliefs and made to understand the ways of Big Brother.
Finally, O’Brien released him back to society after successfully destroying his spirit and made sure he no longer had any feelings for Julia. Winston felt he had betrayed Julia, but he was grateful to have regained his freedom. He regained himself and became recommitted to Big Brother and saw his initial resistance as a mere waste of time.
