Scrapbook
Created | Updated Sep 9, 2002
<GUIDE>
<BODY>
<P>
In his personal quarters is a telescreen that emits messages, images, and monitors Winston's life all at once. Early on the reader learns that Winston is a member of the Outer Party and works at the Ministry of Truth. His job actually has nothing to do with truth, but with altering it. Every day he is required to falsify history by changing records to fit what the Party wants history to be. Winston, needless to say, realizes that what he is doing is wrong, but the one thing he admits that he can stand is his job.
</P>
<P>
Winston begins to write in a diary that he found in an antique shop in the prole<FOOTNOTE>The common class, which makes up 85% of the population</FOOTNOTE> sector. He begins writing in it, hiding behind a wall to avoid the ever-present gaze of the telescreen. He secretly writes, and does not tell anyone. Winston notices a few people, mainly a girl from the Fiction Department and a member of the Inner Party<FOOTNOTE>Top class that makes up 2% of the total population, and is the engine which runs the country.</FOOTNOTE>, O'Brien, with whom one day he exchanges a glance of comradery during the Two Minute Hate<FOOTNOTE>A telescreen program where Party members yell at the image of a past rebel named Goldstein.</FOOTNOTE>. Winston ponders this momentary incident and decides that O'Brien is on his side against the Party.
</P>
<P>
One day, while walking down the corridor of the Ministry of Truth, the woman from the Fiction Department that Winston had noticed falls down on a bandaged arm. When Winston offers help to her, she slips a sheet of paper into his hand. Winston does not look at it for a while, and when he reads it, it says, "I love you." This surprises Winston, because sexual interests between men and women are forbidden out of marriage in the Party, and even in marriage sex is only meant to produce children. Winston and the woman make arrangements by very brief, nonchalant conversations. Eventually, Winston and the woman (who reveals herself as Julia) find a spot in the country and have quite an involved affair. They go there on and off, in different spots each time, taking different routes to throw off possible suspicion from the Thought Police<FOOTNOTE>Citizens who monitor other citizens for the specific purpose of catching them in a rebellious thought and sending them to the Ministry of Love.</FOOTNOTE> They eventually move to a room in the top floor of the antique shop where Winston bought the diary.
</P>
<P>
Later on, Winston is walking down the hall of the Ministry of Truth, and he realizes that he is being followed by O'Brien. O'Brien makes a point of telling Winston, in full view and hearing range of the telescreen, that he can pick up a dictionary at the Inner Party member's apartment. He jots down the address, and gives it to Winston. From that point on, Winston believes that O'Brien is a co-conspirator with him, and that he is on Winston's side.
</P>
<P>
Winston and Julia eventually make a trip to O'Brien's apartment. O'Brien turns off the telescreen, something the other two have never seen done, and then proceeds to tell them that The Brotherhood<FOOTNOTE>A rumored, secret organization of resistance against the Party.</FOOTNOTE> does exist, and so does Goldstein. O'Brien asks Winston and Julia if they will sacrifice everything they have for the cause, and explains that they will only know a few Brotherhood contacts. He tells them that if they are captured, then they will not be rescued. The one thing that Winston and Julia agree that they will not sacrifice is each other, and O'Brien thanks them for their honesty. O'Brien says that in some period of time, Winston will receive <I>the book</I><FOOTNOTE>This is always referred to in italics, and is the book of The Brotherhood written by Goldstein himself.</FOOTNOTE>.
</P>
<P>
Winston eventually gets <I>the book</I>, and does not read it for a while in order to avoid suspicion. When he does read it, he learns of the history of the Party, and how it came to be. He learns that Oceania<FOOTNOTE>Nation where Winston lives, made up of the Americas, Great Britain, Australia, and the southern part of Africa.</FOOTNOTE>, Eastasia<FOOTNOTE>Western Europe, part of Russia, and most of Africa.</FOOTNOTE>, and Eurasia<FOOTNOTE>China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.</FOOTNOTE> have always been at war with each other, and in general their governments are exactly the same. He learns how the Party managed to gain control of the mindless herds of humanity.
</P>
<P>
On the same day that he reads the book in the top room of the antique shop, he pronounces to Julia, "We are the dead." She repeats this phrase, saying, "We are the dead." Then, unexpectedly, a speaker behind a picture in the top room says, "You are the dead." It turns out that the shop keeper, Mr. Charrington, was actually a member of the Thought Police, who was baiting the two all along and prepairing to turn them in. Men in black suits with weapons come in and seperate Winston and Julia.
</P>
<P>
Winston finds himself in a cell in the Ministry of Love. He knew that this day would come, and so he does not seem very surprised to be there. Many different people that Winston knew would be arrested turn up there, entering and leaving his cell, continually being summoned to the mysterious Room 101. O'Brien is one of them, speaking little to Winston, but telling him that he himself know that this day would come. Winston eventually moves to a room with a lot of people. One man is dragged out crying and holding tightly to a bench on his way to Room 101. The other prisoners are forced not to take notice and risk their own torture.
</P>
<P>
Winston eventually becomes conscious of the fact that he himself is being tortured on and off, being asked questions. After a while, Winston realizes that his torturer is none other than O'Brien himself. O'Brien asks him questions, and gets him to confess to numorous crimes. O'Brien makes it clear from his knowledge of all that Winston has done that he knows Winston's life and has been following him around for seven full years. It is even possible that he can somehow read Winston's mind, since he knows what Winston is thinking when he thinks it. O'Brien enlightens Winston on many topics, and acts very fanatical and crazy. The one thing that O'Brien refuses to tell Winston is whether the Brotherhood really exists. One is led to believe that it does not, since O'Brien confesses to have had a part in writing <I>the book</I>.
</P>
<P>
Eventually, after much torture, Winston is taken to Room 101. In this room, O'Brien gives Winston the choice of being eaten alive by rats, his worst fear, or saying something. Winston doesn't know what he's supposed to say until the rats are just above his head, when he cries, "Julia!" thus destroying his moral strength. Winston is now a walking vegetable.
</P>
<P>
Julia and Winston meet in the park later, and both are no longer capable of saying anything friendly to each other, because of the incredible guilt that they feel about giving each other away. Both realize that they really meant it when they said they wanted their worst fear to be performed on the other instead of themselves. They walk off sadly.
</P>
<P>
Winston spends a lot of time in the resteraunt now. He sits and simply eats and thinks blankly. One day, while listening to the telescreen, Winston looks at Big Brother's picture. Right before he is shot in the back of the head, he decides that he loves Big Brother.
</P>
<header>Conclusion</header>
<P>
<i>1984</i> is a sweet book. Really sweet. Orwell gave us all a good idea of what would happen if censorship took its ultimate form and security monitoring happened. The world would stink. The world would be...<i>1984</i>.
</P>
</BODY>
</GUIDE>
<BODY>
<P>
In his personal quarters is a telescreen that emits messages, images, and monitors Winston's life all at once. Early on the reader learns that Winston is a member of the Outer Party and works at the Ministry of Truth. His job actually has nothing to do with truth, but with altering it. Every day he is required to falsify history by changing records to fit what the Party wants history to be. Winston, needless to say, realizes that what he is doing is wrong, but the one thing he admits that he can stand is his job.
</P>
<P>
Winston begins to write in a diary that he found in an antique shop in the prole<FOOTNOTE>The common class, which makes up 85% of the population</FOOTNOTE> sector. He begins writing in it, hiding behind a wall to avoid the ever-present gaze of the telescreen. He secretly writes, and does not tell anyone. Winston notices a few people, mainly a girl from the Fiction Department and a member of the Inner Party<FOOTNOTE>Top class that makes up 2% of the total population, and is the engine which runs the country.</FOOTNOTE>, O'Brien, with whom one day he exchanges a glance of comradery during the Two Minute Hate<FOOTNOTE>A telescreen program where Party members yell at the image of a past rebel named Goldstein.</FOOTNOTE>. Winston ponders this momentary incident and decides that O'Brien is on his side against the Party.
</P>
<P>
One day, while walking down the corridor of the Ministry of Truth, the woman from the Fiction Department that Winston had noticed falls down on a bandaged arm. When Winston offers help to her, she slips a sheet of paper into his hand. Winston does not look at it for a while, and when he reads it, it says, "I love you." This surprises Winston, because sexual interests between men and women are forbidden out of marriage in the Party, and even in marriage sex is only meant to produce children. Winston and the woman make arrangements by very brief, nonchalant conversations. Eventually, Winston and the woman (who reveals herself as Julia) find a spot in the country and have quite an involved affair. They go there on and off, in different spots each time, taking different routes to throw off possible suspicion from the Thought Police<FOOTNOTE>Citizens who monitor other citizens for the specific purpose of catching them in a rebellious thought and sending them to the Ministry of Love.</FOOTNOTE> They eventually move to a room in the top floor of the antique shop where Winston bought the diary.
</P>
<P>
Later on, Winston is walking down the hall of the Ministry of Truth, and he realizes that he is being followed by O'Brien. O'Brien makes a point of telling Winston, in full view and hearing range of the telescreen, that he can pick up a dictionary at the Inner Party member's apartment. He jots down the address, and gives it to Winston. From that point on, Winston believes that O'Brien is a co-conspirator with him, and that he is on Winston's side.
</P>
<P>
Winston and Julia eventually make a trip to O'Brien's apartment. O'Brien turns off the telescreen, something the other two have never seen done, and then proceeds to tell them that The Brotherhood<FOOTNOTE>A rumored, secret organization of resistance against the Party.</FOOTNOTE> does exist, and so does Goldstein. O'Brien asks Winston and Julia if they will sacrifice everything they have for the cause, and explains that they will only know a few Brotherhood contacts. He tells them that if they are captured, then they will not be rescued. The one thing that Winston and Julia agree that they will not sacrifice is each other, and O'Brien thanks them for their honesty. O'Brien says that in some period of time, Winston will receive <I>the book</I><FOOTNOTE>This is always referred to in italics, and is the book of The Brotherhood written by Goldstein himself.</FOOTNOTE>.
</P>
<P>
Winston eventually gets <I>the book</I>, and does not read it for a while in order to avoid suspicion. When he does read it, he learns of the history of the Party, and how it came to be. He learns that Oceania<FOOTNOTE>Nation where Winston lives, made up of the Americas, Great Britain, Australia, and the southern part of Africa.</FOOTNOTE>, Eastasia<FOOTNOTE>Western Europe, part of Russia, and most of Africa.</FOOTNOTE>, and Eurasia<FOOTNOTE>China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.</FOOTNOTE> have always been at war with each other, and in general their governments are exactly the same. He learns how the Party managed to gain control of the mindless herds of humanity.
</P>
<P>
On the same day that he reads the book in the top room of the antique shop, he pronounces to Julia, "We are the dead." She repeats this phrase, saying, "We are the dead." Then, unexpectedly, a speaker behind a picture in the top room says, "You are the dead." It turns out that the shop keeper, Mr. Charrington, was actually a member of the Thought Police, who was baiting the two all along and prepairing to turn them in. Men in black suits with weapons come in and seperate Winston and Julia.
</P>
<P>
Winston finds himself in a cell in the Ministry of Love. He knew that this day would come, and so he does not seem very surprised to be there. Many different people that Winston knew would be arrested turn up there, entering and leaving his cell, continually being summoned to the mysterious Room 101. O'Brien is one of them, speaking little to Winston, but telling him that he himself know that this day would come. Winston eventually moves to a room with a lot of people. One man is dragged out crying and holding tightly to a bench on his way to Room 101. The other prisoners are forced not to take notice and risk their own torture.
</P>
<P>
Winston eventually becomes conscious of the fact that he himself is being tortured on and off, being asked questions. After a while, Winston realizes that his torturer is none other than O'Brien himself. O'Brien asks him questions, and gets him to confess to numorous crimes. O'Brien makes it clear from his knowledge of all that Winston has done that he knows Winston's life and has been following him around for seven full years. It is even possible that he can somehow read Winston's mind, since he knows what Winston is thinking when he thinks it. O'Brien enlightens Winston on many topics, and acts very fanatical and crazy. The one thing that O'Brien refuses to tell Winston is whether the Brotherhood really exists. One is led to believe that it does not, since O'Brien confesses to have had a part in writing <I>the book</I>.
</P>
<P>
Eventually, after much torture, Winston is taken to Room 101. In this room, O'Brien gives Winston the choice of being eaten alive by rats, his worst fear, or saying something. Winston doesn't know what he's supposed to say until the rats are just above his head, when he cries, "Julia!" thus destroying his moral strength. Winston is now a walking vegetable.
</P>
<P>
Julia and Winston meet in the park later, and both are no longer capable of saying anything friendly to each other, because of the incredible guilt that they feel about giving each other away. Both realize that they really meant it when they said they wanted their worst fear to be performed on the other instead of themselves. They walk off sadly.
</P>
<P>
Winston spends a lot of time in the resteraunt now. He sits and simply eats and thinks blankly. One day, while listening to the telescreen, Winston looks at Big Brother's picture. Right before he is shot in the back of the head, he decides that he loves Big Brother.
</P>
<header>Conclusion</header>
<P>
<i>1984</i> is a sweet book. Really sweet. Orwell gave us all a good idea of what would happen if censorship took its ultimate form and security monitoring happened. The world would stink. The world would be...<i>1984</i>.
</P>
</BODY>
</GUIDE>
