George Orwell’s dystopian fiction novel 1984 follows the story of Winston. Winston is a 39 year-old man who lives under the regime of The Party, headed by the ominous Big Brother. In a post-revolution world (in which Winston remembers pre-revolution), the purpose of all daily activities is the same: to serve The Party in any way necessary. Organise rallies, shame enemies of the state, spy on neighbours for thoughtcrimes, follow the official narratives set in terms of both history and present events. Yet, there is a feeling from the beginning that Winston is not the all-conforming comrade he ought to be. 

He works in the Records Department within the Ministry of Truth. His job is to shape narratives, alter official records in accordance with official party orthodoxy, and remove records of those who have been vaporized (make it so they never existed). While he doesn’t believe in the job and his heart clearly is not in it, he continues to do so as he knows that conformity is equivalent to survival. And without survival, there is no hope. 

In Oceania (one of 3 continents in the post-revolution dystopia) there is a distinct lack of truth. The power of The Party is held up by the willingness of each citizen, Winston included, to act in accordance with the official orthodoxy. Basically, to lie. To yourself, the people you work with, your family. The final and most essential command of The Party was to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. Of course, the consequence of not doing so was to become an unperson, someone who disappears and presumably has been vaporized. Possibly because the book is written as a narration of Winston’s point of view, an intimate insight into his deepest thoughts (which he can’t publicly say, keeping them shared only with the reader), but there is a near-constant sense of dread and paranoia. There is a tension between his actions and his thoughts. It is unclear to both Winston and the reader whether or not anyone else shares in this viewpoint, though there are signs that Winston may not be alone. O’Brien, a Party official, hints with just a look in his eyes that he may not be as committed to the cause as he could be. Julia, the dark-haired girl who appears as the poster girl for The Party: leader of the Anti-Sex League, attending all rallies, denouncing enemies, is actually a much more free-spirited individual than is permitted. To this end, she has a sexual relationship with Winston where they meet in private and talk about their disdain for The Party. 

Orwell emphasises the danger of rewriting history. Part of Winston’s job is to rewrite old articles, correcting and updating them so that they are still accurate. ‘Unpersons’ (those who have been vaporized) are removed from stories, new facts are written. There is no objective truth in the world Winston inhabits. The truth cannot exist inside your mind because you cannot have your own thoughts. The Party are the sole source of truth. There is no room for observations that contradict the official orthodoxy of The Party. The irony here is that you cannot believe your own eyes and ears, unless you are seeing or hearing whatever work of fiction The Party are ‘informing’ you of. The citizens are controlled, indoctrinated from young to become Spies. The only function of marriage in Oceania is to produce children who will join the Spy school. Parents fear their children as they will report their parents to the authorities as part of their ‘training’. This clever detail included by Orwell is chilling. Even at home there can be no break from Party conformity. Even if you manage to avoid the watchful eye of Big Brother via the telescreen in your home, your children will turn on you at the first sign of resistance. Orwell does this to highlight that it is not just the adults who are capable of spying on their neighbours, but the innocence of children is corrupted early to make them a valuable asset to The Party. 

Winston and Julia get captured by the Thought Police. While under interrogation, Winston is determined to remain true to himself and his beliefs. He tries to convince O’Brien (who turns out to be a Party member) that he is on the side of the party, to no avail. There is a deep psychological struggle occurring throughout the entire scene. O’Brien tells Winston that nothing short of a love for The Party, and ultimately Big Brother, will suffice as a demonstration of loyalty. To that end, it is revealed that The Party ‘cure’ political prisoners of their initial beliefs (heresy) and once they are cured, kill them. This is to demonstrate a difference between themselves and other historical totalitarian states. Other states would kill you while you maintained your anti-establishment beliefs. As Winston thinks at one point, they at least permitted the freedom to shout your heresy on your way to execution. The Party find that intolerable. You must have your beliefs changed before you are executed, so that they can control your thoughts even at the time of death. 

While they have no intention of letting most live, the incessant need for control and power is the driving force for all The Party does. It is not about wealth or luxury, simply power. The ability to control the minds of the citizens, the emotions, to remove all sense of freedom and individuality, community, or family is the ultimate goal. To eliminate all ‘instincts’ (lust, attraction) is a key aim to achieve their goals. 

When being tortured, The Party takes Winston to the ominous Room 101. It is revealed that this is the room where prisoners are tortured specifically by their most feared object or creature (equivalent to a bogart in Harry Potter). It is made clear that The Party knows the deepest fear of all individuals. For Winston, this is rats. He is threatened with having the rats’ cage locked onto his head so that they have no choice but to eat through his face to escape (an ancient Chinese torture method). At the last minute, Winston commits the one act he did not want to commit: he betrays Julia. He desperately tells O’Brien to give her the rats to save himself, as he does not care for her fate if it means saving himself. This act of betrayal is exactly what The Party craves: the removal of personal feelings towards anyone else, and commitment solely to The Party and Big Brother. It is made explicitly clear to Winston that nothing short of an outward love towards Big Brother (who’s existence is questioned as being anything other than an idea, as opposed to a physical being) will be good enough if he is to be allowed to live without remaining a prisoner. 

In the closing chapter, Winston and Julia see each other. Somehow they have both survived their interrogation and are now ‘free’. They each admit to each other that they committed the same betrayal in Room 101, as their fear was stronger than their love, constituting success for The Party. Their relationship is broken down, and they go their separate ways. Winston has seemingly become an alcoholic who sits in the pub and plays chess every day, his glass of gin topped up every time it is empty. A news bulletin appears on the telescreen announcing a victory in the ongoing war, against an enemy with whom they have always been at war. Winston no longer remembers things that contradict the official narrative of The Party. When he does, he tells himself that he must be creating false memories in his head. This is the level of mind control The Party requires. Total dedication to the facts you are told, even if it contradicts any flash of original memory you may have, is essential. This level of doublethink must be attained by each citizen in order for The Party to maintain power. To not even have the memory in the first place, simply to swallow whatever you are told, is the only way to avoid thoughtcrime. Winston’s aim of not betraying his heart, even if he must say whatever necessary to survive, could not be sustained under torture. The consequence of this at the end of the book is that Winston is a ‘free’ man who follows Party narrative, and celebrates the announced victory in the war. He loves Big Brother, becoming a good citizen who has been cured of his original crimes.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on 1984 and the themes that resonated most with you. Did Orwell’s vision feel eerily relevant, or did certain ideas strike you differently than expected? How do you interpret the roles of power, truth, and individual freedom in today’s world compared to Winston’s? Share your perspective in the comments—whether you agree, disagree, or see something entirely new. The most meaningful conversations often come from diverse viewpoints, and I’m excited to hear yours.