1984

1984 is about totalitarianism. A totalitarian state is trying to control every aspect of life. How people spend their free time- even in private-people who they can associate with, even the things you are allowed to say. A totalitarian government is even trying to control our thoughts, what people believe. 

George Orwell wrote 1984 in the late 1940´s. What he knew about totalitarianism was based on the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. Those regimes were not fully understood at that time. What George Orwell is trying to do with 1984 is to give his readers a clear picture if a free country like England fell under a totalitarian rule.

1984 takes place in London- The capital in the book is a depressing place. There is never enough to eat.  The food is disgusting. There are not enough clothes or anything to go around. The city looks sad and gloomy except for a huge pyramid that rises about the landscape. Mysteriously some rockets explode in the streets. The worst part is that the government is always watching. There are posters of big brother- supposedly the leader of the government. There are hidden cameras everywhere and you are not allowed to turn your TV off ever.  There are a lot of things you are not allowed to do in the society, and if you do them the police can take you away and throw you into a concentration camp. You are not allowed to have close friends. You are not allowed to fall in love, to date or have sex with the persons you like. You need to save all your energies for the party- The party is of course the government.

Then there are things you have to do: you have to watch the government programs on TV. You have to attend political rallies. As a result of that it is hard to have time to think for yourself, to have your own thoughts.  The government is filing your head with propaganda.

The main character of 1984 is Winston Smith. He´s 39 years old- He has a job in the government and He lives a dreadful existence without friends or relatives. At the beginning of the book he starts to write a journal to talk about how much he hates life in the society, even though writing a diary is one of those things he would be killed for doing it if he is caught. The diary is his place for thinking. It’s a place where he can be different. He does not know if things were the same before because the government has rewritten all the history books. 

At the beginning of the novel there are some other people- One of them is Julia, an attractive woman who works in the same building as him. She is some sort of mechanic.  Winston basically hates her. He hates her because Julia is pretty and he can´t have her. But he also thinks she is the sort of person who would turn him to the police. So he is afraid of her but he is also fascinated. The other person he is interested in is a guy called O´Brien who is a member of the inner party. That means he is a boss.  Winston should be afraid of him but he gets the sense that O´Brien is intelligent. He feels O´Brien would understand the way he feels about society and life. 

The book takes a turn when one day Julia sends Winston a note that says I love you. The message rocks Winston life. Of course he is interested. He can´t wait to be in touch with her but it´s quite to say two words to each other in private with all this cameras spying on them.  Finally they manage to get out to the country where they start a madly love affair.  They feel very happy. At last Winston has somebody to understand him. But Winston needs to take an extra step. He is rebelling against the party privately by having a love affair. Now he wants to go to the next level.  He feels like being an active rebel against the government.  He gets his chance one day when O´Brien invites him to his apartment. Winston feels O´Brien must be part of the rebellion.  So he and Julia go to O´Brien house. There they   confess their rebellious attitude to O´Brian. He admits to be a rebel too. After this, the police arrest Winston and Julia.  So we know that O´Brien was not a rebel after all, he just wanted to catch Winston

In the Ministry of love they torture Winston. They break his bones and teeth. He is electrified.  They starve him on and on. Winston tells them everything they need to know. He confesses to everything they ask him and he tells everything he knows about Julia. After torturing him, O´Brien tells Winston what the government really wants; to have total power over rebellious people. They want people like Winston to say 2 plus 2 equal 5 and really believe it. Not just to avoid the beatings. For the government is just an exercise of power. 

They finally break Winston completely in the room 101- the chamber of horrors- Then they release Winton and Julia. The police don´t care about them anymore. The couple is not longer a threat. The two of them meet outside but they can´t love each other. They are broken people. Winston has changed to the point he does not want to think for himself anymore.  He just sits listening to the news. The last words of the novel are: he loves big brother. Does this sound familiar? 

If you are looking for a guilty in the current situation, you only need to look into a mirror. 

Sergio Calle Llorens