1984 Summary: Chapters 1 - 4

       1984 Summary: Chapters 1 - 4 

          Winston, the protagonist of George Orwell's 1984, is a 39 year old man of small frame with fair hair. He has an ulcer above his ankle which makes it hard for him to even climb a flight of stairs. He works for The Ministry of Truth, an organization which is part of Big Brother. He is a self-conscious being, which is something that Big Brother wouldn't approve of. He knows to wear a face of quiet optimism. His living conditions are grim; he often faces severe hunger, which he fights off by drinking Gin.


         The Party is the only political group that exists in Oceania, and they rule by manipulating the people through fear, censorship, and making their citizens ignorant to reality. The poster on the left demonstrates their sly suggestion to the people that they are omnipresent. The telescreen, an oblong box which can never be turned off completely and receives and transmits information simultaneously is their primary spying device. The people are aware of its existence and it subsequently discourages any private behavior which might displease The Party.

      The children of Oceania act as another surveillance utility for the party. This causes fear in the older generation, and even the parents of the children. Winston begins to keep a diary, in order to prevent past events from becoming blurred. He experiences anxiety because the consequences for possessing a diary are grave.

        During a daily formality known as the two minutes hate, Winston catches a glance from a man named O'Brien, which he interprets as a moment of strong connection. Winston is displeased with the current circumstances in Oceania, and he despises the party secretly, and he imagined that O'Brien's glance meant he shared the same feelings.

       Winston dreams often. He sees O'Brien, who whispers cryptic messages like, "we will meet in a place where there is no darkness". He also sees his mother in a dream, as well as a nude female figure. He usually visits a location in his dreams he calls "Golden Country" when he is awake. The dreams seem to offer a momentary escape from his worldly pain, and they take him to a state of freedom and peace.

        In the Ministry of Truth, where Winston works, the faculty are engage in record keeping, data collecting, and story making. They seem not to care whether or not they relay information accurately, and sometimes they seem to even enjoy making up fictitious stories and are encouraged to do so. Winston marvels at the fact that he can have an idea of a non real person, "create" him through writing, and then have this person acknowledged as a bona fide individual.

       The first four chapters are very eerie, and have an odd resemblance to what is taking place currently through modern technology. Orwell seemed to have precognitive abilities, in being able to so precisely predict what "Big Brother" would be able to do. Although the political systems of Orwell's time such as communist society could have inspired some of what Orwell wrote, one can still be amazed by his clairvoyance.

Citations:

"Plot Summary: Nineteen Eighty-four." EXPLORING Novels. Detroit: Gale, 2003.Student Resources In 

        Context. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.

Test, George A. "Karel Capek's `War with the Newts': A Neglected Modern Satire."DISCovering                 
        Authors. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resources In Context. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.