War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. These are the slogans that drive the characters in George Orwell's immortal book, 1984. With this theme of governmental control and universal obedience, the reader follows Winston Smith through a world that Orwell created as a political satire and a bold statement about humanity.
Everything is owned and controlled by the "Party". The streets and flats, or rather "ÃÂapartments,' are dirty and crowded. Food is issued in rations. Bad quality cigarettes, Victory gin, and a small weekly ration of chocolate are the only comforts. There are posters with Big Brother's face on nearly every wall and telescreens in every home, office, and hallway. Telescreens are like television, but there is only one channel. Party propaganda is about the only thing to be heard on the telescreen besides bits of news that don't really matter anyway. The other thing that telescreens do is watch people.
Big Brother's face looms on giant telescreens in V...
Senate House, Malet Street - geograph.org.uk - 171...
British Club in Kathar (In Orwell's time it consis...The telescreen can see and hear everything. There is no privacy. The Party knows everything and can see what any person is doing anytime of the day.
The book features the main character, Winston Smith, who is a man in his late 30's and a member of the 'outer party' - the lower of the two classes. Winston Smith works for the government in one of the four main government buildings called the Ministry of Truth where his job is to rewrite history books in order for people not to learn what the past used to be like remembering the slogan of 'the party' is "who controls the past, controls the future." As the book is beginning, Winston begins to contemplate setting himself against Big Brother and the Party, but of course is reluctant, knowing that even thinking about such a thing could easily result in...