Short Summary - 1984 by George Orwell

Short Summary – 1984
Winston Smith is a citizen of Oceania, one of the three superstates in the world, along with Eurasia and Eastasia. It is the year 1984, and Winston lives in what used to be called Great Britain, now called Airstrip One.   Winston is a member of the Party, which rules Oceania under the principles of English Socialism, known as Ingsoc in Newspeak, the official language of Oceania. Oceania is an oligarchy, meaning the government is being controlled by a few vital figures. The Party’s leader is Big Brother, who is portrayed using propaganda which is displayed everywhere in London with the words “Big Brother is Watching You”. The Party’s three slogans, “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength” are written upon the side of the Ministry of Truth, one of the four Ministry’s involved with the government, including the Ministry of Peace, the Ministry of Plenty and the Ministry of Love. Winston works in the Ministry of Truth, which handles documents of the Party, Winston’s job being one who alters the past, creating a new past, and destroying the old.   Winston has never fully accepted the ways of the Party, but wishes for an unchangeable past, privacy, of which one never has, love, and peace. Although the Party goes against everything Winston believes, he is forced to go along with it, or be caught by the Thought Police, arrested, tortured, and possibly killed. Winston’s rebellion begins when he starts to write in his diary, surprisingly away from the sight of the telescreen, which transmits information from the Party and also allows the Thought Police to watch and listen at all times. Many weeks after developing his hatred for Big Brother and the Party, Winston is caught by surprise when he is told by a seemingly loyal Party member, Julia, that he is loved by her. A love affair between the two shows their rebellion, as all marriages were to be approved by the Party. Many secret meetings lead them to find an abandoned room above an old...