The Structure of the Book
George Orwell’s 1984 is divided into three distinct parts.
Part One introduces Winston, the protagonist.
Part Two explores his secret love affair with Julia.
And Part Three documents how the two are ultimately crushed by the very system they dared to defy.
George Orwell’s 1984 is divided into three distinct parts.
Part One introduces Winston, the protagonist.
Part Two explores his secret love affair with Julia.
And Part Three documents how the two are ultimately crushed by the very system they dared to defy.
Speaking of 1984
Considering that the novel was written in 1949, the year 1984 must have seemed like a distant and unfamiliar future. In Orwell’s imagined world, Earth is divided into three totalitarian superstates—Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia—locked in a perpetual and performative state of war.
The setting of the novel, the nation of Oceania (primarily what used to be Britain), is plagued by chronic food shortages and decaying infrastructure. Aside from a massive pyramid-shaped building at the center of London, everything is dilapidated and bleak.
Hidden cameras and microphones are planted throughout cities. Citizens are constantly being watched. Inside every home, a device known as the telescreen—a combination of television and surveillance camera—must remain on at all times. In some cases, viewers are forced to watch specific programs chosen by the government.
Big Brother Is Watching You
At the top of this authoritarian hierarchy is Big Brother—the symbolic leader of the Party. Big Brother is presented as a near-divine figure, exuding charismatic dominance and unquestioned authority. The slogan “Big Brother is the Party, and the Party is Big Brother” reflects how thoroughly power is centralized and absolute.
Even the Party members who enforce this regime are locked into its grip, driven by the privileges and status that come with loyalty. Among them is Winston Smith.
Winston, despite working for the government, deeply distrusts the regime. He is employed in a department that rewrites historical records—altering the past to fit the Party’s ever-shifting truth. Although he outwardly complies, internally he rebels. He questions the totalitarian logic he’s forced to uphold and secretly loathes it.
Love, Rebellion, and the Illusion of Hope
Winston eventually meets Julia, a young woman who takes an interest in him. In this world, romantic love is forbidden and tightly controlled. But the two are drawn to each other, and their secret affair becomes a personal act of rebellion.
For Winston, this relationship fuels a stronger desire to resist the Party. His quiet dissent begins to swell into a dangerous hope.
Then comes a turning point: O’Brien, a high-ranking official, invites Winston to his home. Winston believes O’Brien also harbors rebellious thoughts, and finally finds someone he can trust. O’Brien lends them a forbidden book, a supposed manifesto of resistance. But as soon as they begin reading, the Thought Police storm in and arrest both Winston and Julia.
It turns out O’Brien was never a rebel. He was a trap—a master manipulator sent to lure out traitors. His goal wasn’t to arrest them for punishment. It was to dominate their minds. He wanted to crush even the thought of rebellion.
Torture Without Purpose
What follows is brutal. Winston is tortured not for information, but for submission. O’Brien’s goal is psychological domination. He forces Winston to renounce even his deepest emotions—including his love for Julia.
In one harrowing moment, Winston is so broken that he begs O’Brien to inflict the pain on Julia instead of him. His inner truth is erased.
By the time he is released, Winston is no longer himself. He and Julia meet again, but the love they once shared is gone. They are not the same people. In fact, they are so broken that the government no longer needs to monitor them. They’re harmless.
Winston is now an ordinary man with no resistance left in him. He is completely remade.
The novel ends with one of the most chilling lines in modern literature:
“He loved Big Brother.”
This is the final twist of the knife—Winston has been so thoroughly brainwashed that he now believes he has always loved Big Brother. His resistance, his identity, his memory… all gone.
In Closing…
1984 is, without question, a political novel. It reveals how totalitarian regimes don’t just control laws or borders—they control the very thoughts and emotions of individuals.
Reading it in 2025, one can’t help but draw comparisons between Orwell’s nightmare and our own world of surveillance, information warfare, and algorithmic control.
Who is your Big Brother today?
This book raises difficult but necessary questions. If you enjoy discussing politics, society, and philosophy, this is a must-read.
It’s not just a novel—it’s a mirror held up to our age.