1984

1984 is about life in a world where no personal freedoms exist. Winston the main character is a man of 39 whom is not extraordinary in either intelligence or character, but is disgusted with the world he lives in. He works in the Ministry of Truth, a place where history and the truth is rewritten to fit the party's beliefs. Winston is aware of the untruths, because he makes them true. This makes him very upset with the government of Oceania, where Big Brother, a larger than life figure, controls the people. His dissatisfaction increases to a point where he rebels against the government in small ways. Winston's first act of rebellion is buying and writing in a diary. Winston starts writing in a diary for two reasons. The first is that he wants to be able to remember the daily occurrences in the world. In 1984, the memory of individuals, is effectively manipulated, programmed, and controlled from the outside by the party.The other reason for the diary is so that people in the future will be able to read what went on during Winston's time and to tell them about his daily reflections on his feelings about the party.

Orwell's sets the mood of the book as one of hopelessness for the future of humans. He contrasts this mood with a popular philosophy: belief in the progress of humanity and the ability of people to institute peace and justice in the world. The Big Brother regime in Orwell's novel serves as a warning about fascism which could ruin humanity's progress. This book was written the same year that the communist Soviet Union exploded their first atomic bomb, which brought fear to Americans. Panic spread that they would be bombed or taken over. Soviets gained six nations as satellites. England was helpless and had to worry about their own problems and had to watch the Soviet Union take control of half of Germany. George Orwell wrote what a communist society would evolve into in the future.