Orwell's 1984

A detailed Summary of Orwell's 1984


In George Orwell's novel 1984, clearly the citizens of Oceania have no discernible rights. They are not allowed to speak for themselves, they cannot have personal relationships with anyone, and above all, they must abide by whatever the Party and Big Brother tell them to do. They live in fear that their every action could be reported to the Ministry of Love, which could torture them until they love Big Brother and abide by what the Party tells them to do. Orwell's 1984 depicts a society that has no choice in the way the people want to live their lives. The people do not even know that they are being manipulated, and they just go ahead and mindlessly listen and believe everything that Big Brother has to say. This society seems almost impossible to the reader since no one would ever want to live in a place where people have almost no voice in what is being done.

In the very beginning of 1984, the main character Winston is introduced. He walks into Victory Mansion, and the first thing that is illustrated to the reader is that the hallway smells like boiled cabbage and old rag mats. Immediately following this, Big Brother is then introduced to the reader. Winston sees a large color photo of B


ig Brother, which states: BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU. Even after reading the first two paragraphs, the reader can surmise that Big Brother plays an important part in this novel. Big Brother is the leader of the Party in Oceania. Everybody is required to "love" him, or they will suffer the consequences. Within the first chapter of 1984, the reader comes to discover that the citizens of Oceania have absolutely no rights. Sure, they do not have any laws, but everyone who resides in Oceania knows that they have to watch what they say, do, and even think.

Liberty can be defined as exemption from control of another, freedom from external restraint, and the power of choice. Clearly, these all go against what the Party and Big Brother say. The people of Oceania are victims of their society and government. They do not have the right to do anything, which deprives them of a reason to live. One should not have to live their lives according to what one person or party says. People need freedom. George Orwell sums this up very well by saying, "Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two equals four. If that is granted, all else follows."

When Winston first sees Julia, he hates her. She is a member of the Anti-Sex Legion, and he believes that she is a symbol representing all that he hates. He also sees a man by the name of O'Brien. He believes that O'Brien is an intelligent man and that he does not look like he believes everything that the Party is telling him to believe. For some strange reason, Winston believes that he can trust O'Brien, and throughout the rest of Parts One and Two, he keeps wondering if O'Brien is truly a kindred soul.

It is apparent throughout the novel that no one has any human rights. The telescreen is a very good example of this. The citizens of Oceania must keep their telescreens on at all times. The telescreen is not only something that the people watch, but it is also a devise in which the Thought Police can observe them. If someone so much as has a bad look on their face, the Thought Police can come in and detain them. In the morning, everyone must engage in exercise by watching the telescreen and doing exactly what the other people are doing. If they do not, someone will either yell at them or they can be sent to the Ministry of Love. Winston knows that his every action is being constantly watched by the telescreen, and that everything in his life has to be done in accordance with what the Party believes to be the right and proper thing.

The Two-Minute-Hate is another one of the most blatant examples, which show that the people of Oceania have no rights. Everyone must gather in front of a large telescreen and watch w

Some common words found in the essay are:
Ministry Love, Oceania Spies, Anti-Sex Legion, Party Oceania, Katherine Winston, Party Winston, B-B Winston, Victory Mansion, Party Parsons, Eastasia Whenever, ministry love, people oceania, people oceania rights, sent ministry love, sent ministry, citizens oceania, oceania rights, emmanuel goldstein, o'brien person, believes party, party people, party allow,

Approximate Word count = 1816
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

join now Save Paper



Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

  • "Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
    Jack M.
  • "With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
    Brian P.
  • "I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
    Sara J.
  • "I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
    Rachel W.
  • "I love this site!!!"
    Marie N.