By: Karina Cerrato
The book 1984 start in London, Oceania where our main character is Winston Smith a 39 year old man is a member of the outer party of INGSOC. He works at the Ministry Truth where he destroys and rewrites the articles and history written about the party. Big Brother’s face is everywhere around the country of Oceania and the Party. Winston lives in the building called the Victory Mansion, were he’s fortunate to have an apartment that he can hide from the tele-screen which tell all the propaganda of the party and the Thought Police monitor the citizens’ movements. With his hidden diary he start writing about the two minutes hate where they place an image of their enemies of Oceania in this case is Goldstein leader of the brotherhood. He knows that he doesn’t hate Goldstein but Big Brother who sees also in O’Brien’s eyes. O’Brien is a powerful member of the inner party who Winston thinks believes in Goldstein brotherhood. Without realizing he has written “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” repeatedly on a whole page.
Someone knocks the door and it was Mrs. Parsons his neighbor. She was asking him for help plumbing since her husband was away. As he starts fixing he is threatened by Mrs. Parsons’ children who play to be spies, accusing him of thought crime. Mrs. Parsons is afraid of her own children. Winston goes back to his apartment he remembers a dream he had of an man saying to him “We shall meet in the place where there’s no darkness” Which believed it was O’Brian. He also dreams about his mother and family who he can barely remember since his memory is very unclear of his past. He dreams of the “Golden Country” were a women with dark hair get off her cloth in front if him but doesn’t make a deal out of it but likes the fact It rebels against the party. He wakes up with the word “Shakespeare” on his lips. The alarm sound for workers to wake up, which means it’s time for their physical jerks. As his doing his exercise he thinks of his childhood and his relationship of Oceania with Eurasia and Eastasia. The party History tells that Oceania had been always enemies with Eurasia and in alliance with Eastasia and he thinks that it’s not true. Also the fact that Big Brother appear in 1930 even though they didn’t hear about him until 1960.
Winston goes to job at the Ministry were he stars working by destroying the obsolete document and changing their content. He updated an dome tempt in which said about Big Brother orders which he did an mistake. Since Big Brother can’t make any mistakes he change it into a new one and destroy the other document. It also talk about the citizen having less food even though it was changed to have a lot of food instead of less, in which they would believe. That day Winston had to record an speech made in December 1983 by a comrade from the party named captain Ogilvy, one of Big Brother’s officials who was war hero and died in battle. Although The captain Ogilvy doesn’t exist. After work he goes to have lunch with a man named Syme who is very intelligent and passionate about his job. He revise the dictionary of the Newspeak, which is an language that the party wants to imply on the citizens and be their official language. Parson who is a Party Official comes into the restaurant and encourage for Winston to contribute for the Hate week. Then he apologize for what his kids did to him. Suddenly there’s an announcement of the Ministry of Plenty saying there will be an increase of production. Later he realize he had been watched by a dark-hair woman and fears it might be an Party agent.
In the evening Winston writes in his journal about his last sexual encounter with a prostitute.The women who he has sexual encounter was very old but he wanted to have sex with her anyways. Yuck!! Winston remembers that his former wife Katherine hated sex and as soon they realize they couldn’t have kids they separated. Winston writes about the hope of revolution even thought the party can’t be destroyed even the brotherhood can’t because of the lack of money and other needs defeating the thought police. Also over 85% of the population of Oceania could easily make enough power to over come the thought police. However the ignorant, animalistic lives and the loss of energy and interest of the revolt don’t let them see the party is oppressing them. Winston see though the children history books in which he find out how the party were the ones who made the buildings, in which is not true. London was a destroyed with the building collapsing.
Winston starts remembering the time were he caught the party lying in the 1960s. He saw some leaders sitting in the Chestnut Tree Café were he photograph the two men letting they were once part of the league with the party and supposedly where at the party function force to confess to their false crimes. Unfortunately Winston threw and distort the photograph because he had the fear of been caught. Winston ends up writing a letter in his diary for O’Brien the only person who he believes is on his side. He finish writing his diary by saying ” Freedom is to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follow”. Then he walks to the prole districts, and envies people’s normal lives. He enters to a pub were he sees an old man who thinks he might have a possible link to the past in which at the end the old man couldn’t tell him nothing since the old man’s memory has ended up been uncertain. He then goes to the store were he bought the dairy and buys a clear glass paperweight with a pink coral center form Mr. Charrington. As he talk with Mr. Charrington, he shows Winston a room with no telescreen were Winston sees a poster saying “Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St.clement’s / you own me three farthings,clay the bells of St. Martin’s. On his way home he sees a dark-hair girl following him. He suddenly imagine him smashing her face with a cobblestone he had with him. He had a lot of fear and decides that the best thing to do is a suicide before they caught him. He takes a coin out of his pocket and looks at Big Borther’s face and can’t help but say the party slogan: “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength”.
End of Part 1
proles could see the strength they have and they could wake up and attack the big brother’s party. The proles being the 85% of oceania population if they could wake up they have a 99% of winning and bringing the party down. If the party comes down oceania could live again as in their past being all of them free and having liberty and living in a true world and not in a false world but the proles have to wake up. “If there is hope it lies on the proles”.
1984 by George Orwell 