1984 Summary
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Characters
Winston Smith - A 39 year old man. He has varicose veins and a varicose ulcer (wounds created
by improper functioning of venous valves, found inside veins) above his right ankle. He works at
the Ministry of Truth. He also has a wife that he can’t get rid of, called Katherine. He also has ve
false teeth (neptanden). He lives in Oceania, at Airstrip One (what used to be London).
Julia - A 26 year old woman. She lives in a hostel with thirty other woman and she worked on the
novel-writing machines in the Fiction Department.
Big Brother - A man of about 45 years old, rst seen on a poster at Victory Mansions by Winston
Smith. Big Brother has a heavy black moustache, dark eyes and handsome features (eyes, nose,
etc.) He’s the leader and guardian of the Revolution.
O’Brien - A member of the Inner Party. He’s a large man with a thick neck and a coarse face.
Emmanuel Goldstein - A man who once was an important person in The Party (almost as
important as Big Brother). He started a counter revolution, was condemned to death, and
disappeared. The Party sees Goldstein as a traitor. He has a lean (mager) Jewish face and a
beard. He’s a part of a supposedly underground group of conspirators against the State, The
Brotherhood. It was also rumoured that Goldstein wrote a title-less book, referred to as “the
book”.
Mr. Parson - A colleague of Winston at Minitrue. He’s fattish but active and very enthusiastic. He
isn’t the smartest but is a leading gure in the Sports Committee. A smell of sweat follows him
everywhere he goes.
Mrs. Parson - The wife of Mr. Parson.
Syme - Syme is a man who is intelligent and works at the Ministry of Truth (Minitrue), together
with Winston. He is a language expert, as he was working on a new edition of the Newspeak
dictionary. Syme is an orthodox man, he is a big fan of Big Brother and agrees with his ideas.
Winston believes Syme is too intelligent to work at the Ministry, as most intelligent people don’t
work there for long Winston recalled. Winston knows Syme will eventually die, because of Syme’s
intelligence and clear vision of The Party’s ideas.
Thought Police - The “SS” of the Party, the people who in-prison people that commit Thought
Crime, or any sort of crime against the Party.
The Party - The “rulers” of London. Their slogan is “Who controls the past, controls the future:
who controls the present controls the past”.
Anti-Sex League - They advocated (verdedigen en vinden dat) complete celibacy (expres
ongehuwd zijn) for both sexes.
fi fi fi
, The world of 1984
World - A dystopian* London (Air Strip 1) in Oceania, continuous wars, two-way telescreens,
mass surveillance. The book (1984) depicts an oppressive society under a totalitarian**
government. The government of 1984’s Oceania controls its people’s actions and speech, in
some ways that are obvious. Their every move and word is watched and heard, and the threat of
what happens to those who step out of the line, is always looming overhead.
Other forms of control are not so obvious, the population is inundated (overspoeld) with a
constant barrage of propaganda made up of “historical facts” and “statistics” manufactured in the
Ministry of Truth.
The regime’s control of language goes even further, eliminating (or destroying) English words, and
creating the dialect of Newspeak. Newspeak is a very simple and limited language that lacks
words complex enough to encourage critical thought, or thought for yourself. This relates to
doublethink.
The Ministry of Truth (Minitrue) is where the past is altered, and where “statistics” and “historical
facts” are created. The Ministry of Peace (Minipax) is the military. The Ministry of Love (Miniluv) is
where (political) prisoners are detained and tortured. The Ministry of Plenty (Miniplenty) is there for
economic a airs. Labour camps are called “Joycamps”. This deliberate irony is an example of
doublespeak, when words are not used to convey (overbrengen) meaning but to undermine it,
corrupting the very idea they refer to. This relates to doublethink, when people cannot think for
themselves, and think to the beliefs of the Party, like 2+2=5, instead of 4, because the Party tells
it’s 5, people believe it and don’t think for themselves.
*Dystopian is relating to or denoting an imagined state or society where there is great su ering or
injustice.
**Totalitarianism is a form of government that theoretically permits no individual freedom and that
seeks to subordinate all aspects of individual life to the authority of the state.
Structure - Big Brother, Inner Party, Outer Party and Proles.
Organisations - INGSOC, Thought Police (similar to SS), Youth League, Anti-sex League
Important Concepts From 1984
Thought Crime - The unspoken thoughts, beliefs and doubts that contradict the arguments of
Ingsoc (English Socialism), the dominant ideology of Oceania. Talking in your sleep, and thereby
saying your inner feelings (which can be against the Party). Thoughtcrime is seen as equally as
bad as keeping a diary of having a love a air.
Crimestop - Stopping dangerous thoughts (thought against the Party), and for Party member it
should be automatic, instinctive.
Blackwhite - To believe what the Party tells you, that that is the ultimate truth (that black is white).
Doublethink - When people cannot think for themselves, and think to the beliefs of the Party, like
2+2=5, instead of 4, because the Party tells it’s 5, people believe it and don’t think for themselves,
in which people’s own privacy is violated, and people can become victims of thoughtcrime by
talking in their sleep. This has to do with the Party altering the past to their beliefs.
Doublespeak - When words are not used to convey (overbrengen) meaning but to undermine it,
corrupting the very idea they refer to.
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