A Summary
By Dylan Grayson and David Lohr 1984 is set in Airstrip One, otherwise known as England, which is the mainland of Oceania. Oceania also includes North America, South America, South Africa, and Australia. The party, which is led by Big Brother, has three parts. The inner party makes up 1% of the population. The outer party, which the main character Winston is part of, makes up 18% of the population. The rest of the population is the proletariats. Winston Smith works for Records Department in the Ministry of Truth which rewrites the past. Winston soon becomes critical of the government for which he works. He then buys a diary and this action is a crime in his world. When he arrives home with his new diary, he hides from the telescreen and thinks of the Two Minute Hate. His thoughts lead him to write “Down with Big Brother” in his diary. That night he dreams of his mother and his sister, who disappeared when he was a child. He also dreams of the girl from the Records Department. Upon waking up, he tries to remember his childhood. In Winston’s job, he is expected to make Big Brother’s predictions come true. At lunch he meets Syme who is at work on the eleventh edition of the Newspeak Dictionary. Later, when Winston is at home, he remembers seeing a prostitute three years ago. His wife Katherine was ignorant and brainwashed completely by the party. She thought that intercourse should only be a means of reproduction, not of pleasure. Winston then thinks of how the hope for change lies in the proles due to their sheer numbers. He remembers seeing Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford in the Chestnut Tree Café. He heard that they were in Eastasia on the day that they were supposed to be in Eurasia. He realizes that freedom is the right to say that two plus two equals four. Then, Winston goes out and walks amongst the proles. He goes to a shop and a man named Charrington leads him upstairs to an old room. After viewing the room, Winston meets the Records Department girl in the street. He helps her up and she gives him a note that says “I love you.” After another week, Winston finally talks to this girl when they meet in the canteen. They decide on another place to meet. When they meet there, she gives him directions to the secret place where they will meet on Sunday. Winston follows her directions and they meet. However, she tells him to be quiet because they may be microphones nearby. They kiss and he learns that her name is Julia. She then takes him to yet another place where they cannot be observed. She tells him that she is attracted to him because of something in his face which shows that he is against the party. He then starts to really believe that sex is a political act against the party. Hate week is coming up and Winston sees Julia more often. Winston is healthier now. O’Brien tells Winston of Syme’s vanishing because of a thoughtcrime. He invites Winston to his flat. Winsotn is now sure of the existence of a counter movement. O’Brien turns off his telescreen at his house, which Winston did not know was possible. O’Brien and his guests toast to the brotherhood. The guests are given a copy of Emanuel Goldstein’s The Book to explain the core beliefs of the brotherhood. Winston and Julia are soon thereafter caught. Winston is brought to the Ministry of Love. He is trained to see what the party wants him to see. He does not betray Julia until he is tortured with rats. At that point, he screams, “Do it to Julia!” In the end, he realizes that he loves Big Brother.
