George Orwell 1984 - Plot

George Orwell 1984 - Plot - Part I

In the bleak world of 1984, Winston Smith works for an oppressive government agency. In the Ministry of Truth, Winston's function is to rewrite history to suit the needs of the authoritarian state of Oceania which now rules. As a result of many years of propaganda, the public has started to forget the past and the condition that created their grim society. Efforts are also made to limit the utility of language through the employment of 'Newspeak', a state run campaign to remake English. Part I relates the nature of the relationship between the individual and the state in 1984. Through Winston we learn of the many systems of control employed by the state in all aspects of life. The Parsons, for example, illustrate how children are encouraged to betray their loved ones by joining the 'Junior Spies'. Sex is curtailed by means of the 'Anti-Sex League'. Class divisions are maintained by the powerful Inner Party, the educated, but limp Outer-Party and the Proletariat (Proles), the ignorant working class of Oceania.  Telescreens are used to keep a 24 hour surveillance of the Outer-Party. These are also used to churn out state propaganda, as well as maintain control through interactive calisthenics and other programmes.  Winston, to keep his sanity and in a rare act of disobedience, decides to keep a diary - an offence that could have him disappeared. He finds a nook to hide it within his small home, away from the ever-watchful telescreens of Big Brother, the state figurehead. In The Ministry of Truth, Winston wonders privately about his co-workers. Many of them, like him, have access to articles of truth, evidence of a time before Big Brother. He reasons that there must be some who think like himself, even if those ideas could have them arrested by the much feared Thought Police. We are introduced to light radicals, such as Syme and Ampleforth who later fall foul of the authorities.  Winston believes O'Brien, a co-worker, to be a member of The Brotherhood, a revolutionary group. In contrast, he believes another co-worker, Julia, a dark-haired woman, to be an informer looking to turn him on to the state. The terrible anguish of Winston's existence is somewhat broken by his forays into the Prole areas. There he seeks stories of the past from unreliable drunks, and finds beauty in the dusty trinkets of an antique shop. These acts are enough to convict him, he knows, but he cannot fight the inner urge to be free.    

Part II

The middle section of 1984 is centred on the relationship between Winston and Julia. Julia, who is earlier known simply as the dark-haired girl, approaches Winston in the Ministry of Truth where, feigning injury, she staggers just as Winston passes her in the corridor. As he helps her to her feet, she secretly passes him a note which reads 'I Love You.' Understandably taken aback and still suspicious - for they have never spoken - Winston cautiously enters into a relationship with this stranger. Taking separate routes, they agree to meet in the countryside, away from the telescreens and in an environment which is en Edenic utopia compared with the grey and intrusive London of the text.  Julia highlights the difference between appearance and reality in 1984. Despite wearing the red sash of the Junior Anti-Sex League, Julia informs Winston that he is just one of many lovers she has taken. This tells us that clandestine sexuality must be widespread despite the state's best efforts. This encourages, for Winston, the idea that the Party is not as omnipotent as it would appear. Moreover, Julia is the only person with whom WInston can openly discuss their mutual hatred of system and government. Their relationship is liberating not only sexually, but also emotionally, as Julia provides an outlet for Winston's hidden feelings and vice versa.  As their relationship progresses, Winston rents a room above the antique shop in the Prole quarter. In seeming privacy, Julia and Winston perform acts that would be unthinkable otherwise. These include the wearing of make-up and the consumption of Inner-Party foodstuffs such as real coffee and jam. This happy period is interrupted by the discovery of a rat - a terrible phobia of Winston's.  During their time together, Winston and Julia explore the cultural memory of London before the war. They begin this accidentally, when Winston relays a nursery rhyme about London's churches, which Julia remembers from her own youth. Though Winston feels that this loss of memory, caused by the Party's policy of revisionism, is important, Julia does not share his interest. Her thoughts are governed by a sense of sensuality and the present. This intellectual schism is a sign that their relationship is not entirely suited. As the story progresses, they both sense an ominous ending ahead. In another instance of repressed memory, Winston has a troubling dream about his mother, who he cannot remember. His dream indicates that the young Winston was somehow responsible for the death of his mother & sister, through and act of selfishness. This is a further portent of later dread.   O'Brien compliments Winston on his writing and invites him to his home. Winston believes he has made contact with The Brotherhood, through O'Brien. This is the opportunity he has been hoping for. This is also the riskiest path he could take.  Winston takes Julia to O'Brien's, where they confess their hatred of the state. O'Brien confirms their allegience to The Brotherhood, and promises Winston access to 'the book', a seditious work by Emmanuel Goldstein, and perhaps the key to a workable revolution. During this exchange, O'Brien reveals his own knowledge of the nursery rhyme. This leaves Winston confused.  Reading the book above Charrington's shop, Winston remains unsatisfied with what he finds within. The book explains 'How' the Party operates, he wants to know 'Why'.  At the end of the section, the sanctuary is exposed to be a trap. A telescreen has been monitoring them the whole time and Charrington is affirmed to be a member of the Tought-Police. 

Part III

Part III largely takes place within the confines of the Ministry of Love.  Winston has been arrested. As he awaits processing, he encounters a series of other incarcerated figures, each offering another insight into the harsh world of 1984. First of all, Winston encounters an old woman, also called Smith, who indicates that she could be his mother, a possibility he cannot deny.  Ampleforth, Winston's poetic colleague, is brought to the cell, and later, Tom Parsons, Winston's one-time neighbour and loyal Party devotee. This procession shows reminds the reader just how harsh the justice of the Party can be, as these prisoner's crimes are so so much less incriminating than Winston's acts. Having been separated from Julia, Winston worries for her safety and vows to himself to stay loyal to their love.  When O'Brien enters the cell, WInston initially believes him to have been caught too. He is horrified to learn that O'Brien is really a double agent and the one in charge of Winston's interrogation or, as he calls it, 'treatment'. For many days, Winston is tortured. He learns that the Party has watched him closely for years. His capture was inevitable long before he had ever had a treasonous thought. O'Brien and Winston then enter a philosophical debate relating to the nature of the Party and the nature of humanity. O'Brien's candid responses allow Winston to learn the answer to the question of 'Why' - the Party craves power for the sake of power. That is their reason to be.  Winston has been beaten, physically and emotionally. He learns he is to be shot. He is told that Julia has betrayed him. Yet he still retains an inch of freedom - the knowledge that he has been loyal to her.  Eventually, O'Brien sends Winston to Room 101 - the place where worst fears are made real. Here, WInston's earlier phobia of rats is used against him. A box is placed on his head. A rat waits within. In a panic, WInstons screams 'Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia!'. He has been broken. He has nothing left.  Some time later, Winston has been released. He drinks gin in the Chestnut Tree Cafe and absentmindedly sketches the doublethink equation, 2+2=5. He muses on a meeting with Julia. They had both been changed by their ordeal, having betrayed each other and, in doing so, themselves. As he learns of an Oceanic military victory from the telescreen, Winston becomes emotional. The emotion is love. Winston loves Big Brother.