George Orwell's 1984
Summary
In George Orwell's 1984, the main character Winston is dealing with a constant state of oppression in Oceania (London, England in present day), a place where the Party scrutinizes human actions with the "Big Brother," an unseen government force. Defying a ban on individuality, Winston dares to express his thoughts in a diary and pursues a relationship with a female he works with named Julia. These criminal acts bring Winston into the eye of the opposition, who then must reform him to the ideals of the big brother. George Orwell's 1984 introduced the watchwords for life without freedom: BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, and WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.
Character Synopsis
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Winston Smith: Winston is the main character of the novel, the main protagonist in the corrupted country of "Oceania." He is a common worker in the Ministry of Truth, where it is his job to correct and replace "errors" within the countries past. Throughout the novel he struggles with conforming to the ideals of the Big Brother, and is in under the belief that there exists a secret society that is planning an uprising against the Big Brother. Winston begins an affair and later falls in love with the character Julia, who is also against the ideals that the Big Brother places forward. Later in the novel, Winston is captured by the Big Brother and tortured until he conforms to the ideals of the Big Brother once again.
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Julia: Julia is a 29 year old woman who works in the Ministry of Truth with Winston, although not in the same department as each other. She is secretly against the Big Brother, but is a part of many organizations that completely support the Big Brother's ideals, in order to keep her from being a suspect of defying the Big Brother. She starts an affair with Winston, and is a seemingly care-free character who puts her pleasures and survival above all other thoughts and emotions throughout the novel. When Winston is captured by the Big Brother, Julia is as well and she is tortured until conformed to the ideals of the Big Brother, therefore ending any sense of feelings between Winston and herself.
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Big Brother: Big Brother is the face of the party within the novel, and the leader behind all of the posters and power. Although he is referenced to numerous times in the novel, no character actually comes in contact with him.