Plot Overview

About the Author

1984 is about a guy named Winston Smith who is 39

years old. He lives in Oceania and works as a
recorders editor in Records Department at the
Ministry of Truth. He lives in a dystopian world
controlled by Big Brother. Big Brother controls
everything and is always watching. Citizens live in
fear that the Thought Police can get them anytime
and take them away. Winston however isnt too fond
of Big Brother and rebels in secret by writing down
his thoughts in a diary. He discovers a shop which
sells items from the past and the place he got the
diary. One day at work he a girl secretly gives him a
note which says, I love you. Julia is 26 years old
and and is a participant in the Two Minutes Hate.
They fall in love and meet at the shop where
Winston bought the diary so as not to get caught.
Mr. Charrington rented out the top of his shop,
which was a room, to the couple. Both rebelling
against Big Brother. Along the way they meet a man
name OBrien who is strange and mysterious. He
works in the Inner Party but says to be like them. He
says he is part of an underground group that is
against Big Brother. He asks them both to join,
which they both agree on. One day as Julia and
Winston are together in a room something terrible
happens. The Thought Police discovers them and
takes them both away. Mr. Charrington was part of
the Thought Police and it was a trap all along. They
get separated and Winston finds himself with other
prisoners. OBrien was also a liar he tricked both
Winston and Julia. OBrien tortured Winston to the
brink of death changing him into a different man. He
awaits his ending to see if he will make it out alive
or die.

George Orwell was born on June 25, 1903 in

Motihari, Bengal. He addressed major political
movements like imperialism, fascism, and
communism. He was the son of a British civil
servant, George spent his first days in India where
his father was stationed. His mother brought him
and his younger sister to England about a year after
his birth. They settled down in Henley-on-Thames.
His father stayed behind, but retired from service in
1912 and went with his family however, George
found his father to be dull and conservative. Orwell
was sent to boarding school called St. Cyprians in
1911. Orwell was smart and and won scholarships to
Wellington and Eton College. He completed his
schooling at Eton but didnt have enough money to
pay for a university. He joined the India Imperial
Police Force in 1922. After 5 years he retired and
became a writer. Another famous book he wrote was
Animal Farm.

Historical Context
1984 is set near-future Oceania. Run by Big Brother
in a dystopian world of fear. Always being watched
and observed. If caught being odd sentence to death.
The book was published in 1949 during the cold
war. It is believed that Orwell, disillusioned by the
onset of the Cold War, originally planned to call it
1948. Orwell originally set the novel in 1980, then
1982, and finally 1982. We by Zamyatin is believed
to have strongly influenced 1984.

Novel Notes
1984
George Orwell
Thalia Avalos
1/9/16

Essential Quotes
It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks
were striking thirteen (Orwell 1).
If there is hope [wrote Winston] it lies in the proles
(69).
Add Work Cited Here:
SparkNotes Editors. SparkNote on 1984.
SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2007. Web. 14
Dec. 2015

Character Analysis

Themes

Motifs and Symbols

Winston Smith: A 39 year old who was a recorder

editor in the Records Department at the Ministry of
Truth. Married to Katherine. He didnt agree with
Big Brother and rebelled against it. He fell in love
with a girl named Julia. They had a secret affair and
true love. He had no kids and he loved to smoke. He
thought differently than the rest. His thoughts were
deeper and always questioning why.

Freedom: Winston and others desire freedom in their

controlling government. They want the right to say
and do what they want without the government
watching their every move.

Diary: The diary represented how Winston rebelled

against Big Brother. It represents his desire to break
free. He is unable to speak his mind and does this by
writing down his thoughts. In the world he lived in
he wasnt able to speak freely, so the book was his
world which he had control.

Big Brother: The ruler of Oceania and the main one

in control. It is unknown if he is truly a person or
just something made up.

Julia: A 26 year old girl who was a participant in the

Two Minutes Hate directed against Emmanuel
Goldstein. She is the lover of Winston Smith. She
also hates Big Brother and is a thoughtcriminal.

OBrien: Is a wise older gentlemen who works for

the Inner Party. Is thought to work with the
Emmanuel Goldstein but is a liar. Works for Big
Brother. Thinks like Winston but isnt insane.

Emmanuel Goldstein: Is thought to be the leader of

an underground rebel group. It isnt know if he is
really true or made up.

The Red-Armed Prole Woman: A lower class lady

who sings and does laundry. Winston sees her as
hope that one day the proles will overthrow Big
Brother even if it takes 1000 years it will happen.

Mr. Charrington: An older fellow who owns a old

shop in the proles district. Thought to be Winstons
friend. Turns out to be part of the Thought Police
and tricks him.

Love: Winston and Julias love show how love is

greater than anything. Even though the government
forbids true love it happened. Even though being in Telescreens: The telescreens represented how the
love could lead to their death its worth it. It is also a government used technology for bad and their use.
way to rebel against the government.
They watched the citizens every movement giving
them no freedom. It reminded the citizens that they
Dystopia: The world in which Winston lives in is
had no control and they could only live in fear as
cruel and controlling. Always being watched and
Big Brother watched them.
having to make sure to look normal. Fearing the
Thought Police will come and take them away. A
Glass Paperweight: This represented the past and the
world full of lies and fear.
innocence. The world that Winston desired was the
room with the mahogany bed, the gateleg table, the
Lies: Everything in Oceania was a lie. Things can be clock, the steel engraving, and the paperweight. The
changed by erasing and changing history. The
smooth, transparent glass paperweight was the room
citizens are given false information made by the
itself. The coral in the middle of the paperweight
Party. Who controls the present controls the past- was, Julias life and his own, fixed in a sort of
1984. The past is controlled by the present people
eternity at the heart of the crystal (147). Their love
because the past are memories and documents the
and hearts.
people today have. So they control the past and can
change it to lies.
Big Brother: Big Brother is the leader of the Party.
Winston can never determine however, if he truly
Insanity: Inner Party members and Big Brother
exists. The name Big Brother is a reassurance to the
believe anyone who doesnt think like they do are
public. The warmth of the name suggests the ability
insane. Those people are tortured until they are
to protect however, he is always watching.
considered sane.
The Red-Armed Prole Woman: The prole woman
Control of History: Citizens were not allowed to
represents the strong and vital lower class. She has a
keep anything from the past. As a result, memories
mystical reverence about her and her singing. He is
become fuzzy and citizens are perfectly willing to
convinced that the proles are immortal and will
believe in anything. Big Brother also changed
someday rebel and overthrow Big Brother.
history be telling lies and having workers distribute
them.