GEORGE ORWELL AND 1984

WHO IS ORWELL?

• Eric Arthur Blair, born in India due to his father being stationed there
• author and journalist; began writing at four and was published in the paper at eleven
• against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism
• died at 42 with only two largely recognized works; 1984 and Animal Farm

WHY 1984?

• written shortly after WW2
• warning and prevention for the future to not end up as written, since this is where Orwell saw it heading
• strong opposition of totalitarianism

EXPOSTITION

• Winston Smith's hatred for Big Brother and the Party
• The Records Department
• The forbidden diary
• Two Minutes Hate
• O'Brien and Julia

RISING ACTION

• Julia and Winston form a relationship, which is forbidden by the Party
• O'Brien introduces them to the Brotherhood where they reveal they aren't willing to separate from one another
• Winston reads the book that explains the brotherhood more in detail

CLIMAX

• Winston and Julia are captured by the Party, then separated
• Winston is isolated until O'Brien comes along, thinking he was captured too
• O'Brien is a member of the Party and had been keeping tabs on Winston for years
• O'Brien tortures Winston both physically and psychologically (starvation, electric shock, 2+2=5, etc.)

FALLING ACTION

• Winston goes to Room 101, where he knows his biggest fear will be
• He faces a cage of rats
• To save himself, he tells O'Brien to give the punishment to Julia instead

RESOLUTION

• Winston is now different
• Julia and Winston cross paths, and both admit to betraying the other; neither feel anything for the other
• Winston admits he loves Big a Brother

WINSTON sMITH

• born before WW2
• lives in Oceania
• hatred of the Party might stem from the disappearance of his mother and his inward blame
• not very emotional regarding anything besides Julia or the Party
• wants to beat the Party by remaining human and individualistic; by not conforming

MY THOUGHTS?

• was on my "to read" list for a while
• more complex than I imagined
• not the easiest of books to understand (Newspeak, length of paragraphs, lacking in dialogue)
• people who like classics and social/political dilemma will likely enjoy