1984

In 1984, the Party slogans “who controls the past controls the future” and “who controls the present controls the past” express the central idea that political power depends on controlling reality itself. Winston understands… read more

At the end of the novel, the Party has completely broken Winston Smith. After he and Julia are arrested in the room above Mr. Charrington’s shop, Winston is imprisoned in the Ministry of Love, where… read more

George Orwell combines several genres in the novel, most importantly dystopian fiction, political satire, and allegorical or parable-like storytelling. 1984 imagines a future society ruled by a totalitarian government that uses surveillance, propaganda, censorship, and… read more

In 1984, Winston Smith works at the Ministry of Truth, specifically in the Records Department. His job is to rewrite old newspaper articles and historical records so they match whatever the Party currently claims… read more

Newspeak is the official language created by the Party to limit people’s ability to think independently. Syme explains that “the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought” and eventually make “thoughtcrime… read more

"Doublethink” is the Party’s method of forcing people to believe two contradictory ideas at the same time and accept both as true. Winston defines it as: “To know and not to know, to be conscious… read more

The novel's setting is London in the year 1984, specifically a grim, authoritarian version of the city called Airstrip One, which is part of the superstate Oceania. The world of the novel is divided into… read more

The proles are the proletariat, the working-class majority who make up about 85 percent of Oceania’s population. Unlike members of the Inner and Outer Party, the proles are largely ignored by the government because the… read more

In 1984, Room 101 is the most feared torture chamber in the Ministry of Love, where prisoners are confronted with “the worst thing in the world” for them personally. O’Brien explains that what is… read more

Syme is Winston Smith’s coworker at the Ministry of Truth and one of the linguists responsible for creating Newspeak, the Party’s stripped-down language. At the beginning of the novel, he is editing the Eleventh Edition… read more

Emmanuel Goldstein is an exiled former Party leader who has been turned into the official enemy of Oceania. The Party presents him as “the Enemy of the People,” blames him for acts of sabotage and… read more