1984
1. Biography
George Orwell is the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, a British
writer with political conscience. He was born in India but
educated in England at Eton College. He served the Indian
Imperial Police in Burma from 1922 to 1927. In sick health, he
returned to Europe to live in poverty as a struggling writer.
Orwell joined the Republican forces in the Spanish civil war, and
wrote a chilling account of this experience. He went on to write
many books, mostly autobiographical, and achieved successes as a
brilliant writer.
2. Synopsis
The novel takes place in a theoretical and fictional dystopian
totalitarian society. The story begins in London on April 4, 1984
after an atomic world war divides the world into three states.
London is the capital of Oceania which is run by INGSOC(English
Socialism). The controllers are called "The Party." The Party is
divided into two sections, The Inner Party, and The Outer Party
which are the "Rich" and the "middle-class."
English: Grave of Eric Arthur Blair (George Orwell...
London - Portobello Road, George Orwell House
English: George Orwell in Hampstead On the corner ...There is a third
group of people called "The Proles," or "The Proletariat" which
are the poor, and considered to be animals by the party. The main
leader of this government is Big Brother. The novel is told in
third person and partly first person, and is also divided into
three parts. In the first part the main character and his
conflicts with the world he lives in are revealed. Winston Smith
is a bureaucrat who works for the government by altering history
at the Ministry of Truth. He begins to ponder the reason things
are so bad and commits a terrible crime. In the second part, he
falls in love with Julia, and is taken in by a man named O'Brien,
a member of the anti-party society called the Brotherhood. O'Brien
turns out...