"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever."

1984, a world where thoughts are treason, past is a lie and the future belongs to those who obey. A world where your own thoughts betray you and your unconscious activities lead to your inevitable doom. This novel, written by George Orwell, is a nightmare disguised as fiction. 1984 is not just a novel, it is a warning that grows more terrifying with time.

This story follows the life of a guy named Winston. Despite being trapped in a world where the public worships an unseen dictator (Big Brother) who holds absolute power over all, telegrams monitor every movement, Winston has learned to mask his consciousness and fit in with the brainless zombies Big Brother has created out of humans. Winston describes the” futuristic world” (1984), a place where morality is a myth, thoughts are crimes and if there is love, it’s the love for Big Brother.

As Winston goes on about his day as a worker of Ministry of Truth, his eyes meet a figure whom he despises, Julia, who he suspects to be a spy for The party. Winston also has been interested in a guy called O'Brien, an Inner Party member whom he believes shares his hatred for the Party. Putting aside the people Winston is particularly troubled by doublethink, the Party’s ability to control reality by forcing contradictory beliefs such as THE PARTY’S slogan:

War is Peace

                                                        Freedom is Slavery

Ignorance is Strength

Syme, a friend of Winston who works on the revolutionization of current language by creating completely new dictionary with limited range of words to limit the range of thoughts, so in the future committing thought crime would be impossible because there would be no words to express it. Syme was a brainwashed intellect who loved the party but Winston knew that the party wouldn’t share this feeling as they don’t like intelligent people and Winston knew that Syme would vaporize soon. People often disappeared after confessing to thought crime, or people liked to call it “they vaporized”, the evidence of their existence was erased, their names destroyed and this lie was forced until it became the truth. Their existence was denied, and the day a person “vaporized” would be the last day their name was spoken.

“I love you” read the note Julia had slipped into the hands of Winston, he had underestimated her, Julia was secretly a thought criminal, and in fact Julia was everything that Winston lacked, passionate, rebellion, young and attractive. After a few hesitant moves they soon engage in an affair, Julia being a rebellious woman finds different locations where they could meet and not get in trouble with the thought police. They continue this relationship despite being aware of inevitable fate. Winston rents a room at the shop of an elderly citizen, Mr. Charrington, where Julia and Winston meet up without having to worry about the party and thought police.

 

O'Brien invites Winston to his house where he lives in comparative luxury as a member of the Inner Party, in this secretive meeting Winston brings Julia along and O’Brien reveals himself as a member of THE BROTHERHOOD. The brotherhood is supposedly a confidential organization led by Emmanuel Goldstein, who is against the ruling of The Party and Big Brother. Winston himself being a thought criminal and having immense hate towards them, he had been obsessed with the idea of joining THE BROTHERHOOD. Taking this opportunity Winston and Julia trust O’Brien quite blindly, calming themselves as the members of THE BROTHERHOOD. O’Brien promises them a book written by Goldstein, “The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism”.

 Julia and Winston return to their rented room to read this book but, their place is quickly surrounded by the Thought Police… They had foreseen this the day they got involved in a love affair but now that it was actually happening, Winston felt fear.

Winston and Julia get separated and from this chapter on, we don’t get to witness what happened to Julia.

Winston sits in silence in the cell while his stomach rumbles from the hunger he quite often hears the word “room 101”, he doesn’t talk until he sees O’Brien entering the cell. “They've got you too!” Winston claims but soon the true role of O’Brien is shown when he starts physically, mentally and emotionally torturing Winston. Winston is beaten, starved, electrocuted to the point of
submission. In the mist of Winston’s agony, he cries out the name of Julia, O’Brien realizes, he might have broken Winston’s mind but his heart is still his own.

“ROOM 101” – O’Brien

Winston is strapped to a chair and a cage full of hungry, massive, vicious rats with yellow and sharp teeth are brought out. ROOM 101 contains “the worst thing in the world”, rats being Winston’s biggest fear O’Brien uses this information against him. The cage had a device that would open up and the rats would eat his face alive.

“They will leap onto your face and bore straight into it. Sometimes they attack the eyes first."

There was only one way Winston could avoid this fate and he knew what it was..

“DO IT TO JULIA! NOT ME!! JULIA, I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU DO TO HER! TEAR HER FACE OFF, STRIP HER TO THE BONES. NOT ME, JULIA, NOT ME”

Winston cried out, betraying his love and breaking completely. O’Brien breaks Winston, convincing him that everything The Party says is the truth, even the fact that 2+2= 5 without question.

Winston is released and so is Julia which proves that they both betrayed each other now they feel nothing but faint disgust for the other, now Winston is a broken man, he doesn’t love Julia, he fully accepts The Party and he realizes..

“he loved Big Brother”