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Big Brother Is Watching You My name is Winston Smith, a man of 39 living in Oceania, and I am the last sane man on earth. I believe the date to be 1984, even though I have no real proof of it. London, as I know it, is a place devastated by hunger and disrepair. A place where every action and thought are closely monitored. For as long as I can remember, the Party has been in control. The principles of Ingsoc1 and Big Brother have been dictating public interest here since the 40s. Even though I have never known any other life, it feels like there is something inherently wrong with this one. Big Brother imposes a way of life that is intolerable to me. I have committed acts of subversion, violence, perversion, demoralization and more for the good of the Brotherhood2. I am a traitor, and the rest of the people of Oceania are empty headed automatons.

I seem to be the only person in possession of a memory. When I used to work for Minitrue3 in the records department, my job was to remove or rewrite incongruent bits of history from the Times and other periodicals. On occasion I would rewrite entire articles to favor of the Party and it's predictions. There was one week when it was announced that the chocolate ration would be reduced to 20%. The next week there was an announcement that the ration would be raised to 20%! And no one noticed the lie that was told! Everyone believed that only a week from when their rations had been reduced by 10% that they had actually been raised to the same amount! Another example would be when I held in my hand undeniable evidence of the true past. It was a photo of three men who had been executed as traitors. The claim the Party made as to their complicity was that they were in the territory of the then enemy Eastasia selling secrets. The photo I had was of the same three men on the same night at a completely different location! Sadly, I could not keep the photograph, but I still remember the evidence I had.

There was no one to talk to, and no way to get any privacy with the telescreens4 always monitoring everything I did. I didn't believe that I could talk to anyone about my views on the Party. The majority of the population would have turned me in on charges of thoughtcrime5. There was Julia, however, the woman I loved. She and I kept our relationship a secret for the sake of our own lives. We shared the same opinions about the Party, and did all we could to be happy in spite of them. I believed I had an ally in the Inner Party6. His name was O'Brien, and he was someone who saw things my way. He seemed to know what I was thinking and wanted the same things that I did. We arranged a meeting with him at his residence, and brought Julia with me. He inducted us into the Brotherhood and gave us the book of Goldstein7 and we read it. It was the bible of thoughtcriminals, and we devoured every word of it hungrily.

Eventually we were arrested for participating in the subversion of the Party. O'Brien sold us out, but I never ceased to trust him. Even now after the torture, humiliation, starvation, degradation, and terror he put me through, he is still someone I can trust.

In the end, I am broken. The time I spent in Miniluv8 changed many things about me. I have grown to enjoy my life because I have seen the most horrible it could ever be. I have learned to be happy and productive. I am happy for me, happy for the Party, happy for O'Brien, happy for Julia, and I am happy for Big Brother. I lust for a chance to serve the Party, and rejoice in my way for the victories of Oceania. I love Big Brother.

Ingsoc - The form of government in Oceania, newspeak for English Socialism.

The Brotherhood - A rebel force that opposes Ingsoc.

Minitrue - Newspeak for Ministry of Truth.

telescreen - All purpose surveillance device used to keep up with the activities of Party members.

Thoughtcrime - Thinking or acting against the Party's guidelines.

Inner Party - Rulers of the Party.

Goldstein - Jewish man who leads the Brotherhood.

Miniluv - Newspeak for Ministry of Love.

*Newspeak was the new official language of Oceania in 1984.