1984 Thematic Essay

By: Jared Miller

1984 was written by George Orwell about a grim future in which people are controlled by a party known as the brotherhood which is led by Big Brother. The background of the story is that nuclear war has ravaged the earth and three superpowers have arisen out of the rubble, Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia, all of which are at war with each other. The leading party in Oceania, where the story takes place, experts maintain its power through such techniques as "Spies", a youth group that encourages children to report adults, including their parents, to the party officials, if they go against the party. Another technique is the "thought police", who observe and spy on society and eliminate those who have thoughts against the party. The party engages in many activities that people would consider inhumanly wrong. These include the changing of history with the objective of making the party look good. They also make up things it has the people believe through its telecasts, which the entire population watches. The main character is Winston, who works for the Ministry of Truth, which is an ironic name since it makes up what the people are to believe. Winston has thoughts all the time against the party, but luckily has never been caught by the "thought police". He keeps on seeing some woman and eventually they meet and he finds out her name is Julia. They differ in their view of how best to oppose the party. He believes in a widespread rebellion while she believes in just going against the party when it is safe. Eventually, they come to follow a man named O"Brien who is the leader of an opposition party to the brotherhood. He gives the couple a book by a man named Goldstein that is against the brother hood. He reads the book but soon after is arrested by the thought police because there was a hidden camera inside his room. It turns out that O"Brien was a member "thought police" that had tricked them. Both he and Julia are taken away large cells with all the...