1984 by George Orwell
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1984 is a novel set in a dystopian society. In the year 1984 the society is ruled by a totalitarian government led by the party which controls every aspect of people's lives, including their thoughts and emotions. The story is told from the perspective of Winston Smith, a low ranking member of the party who works at the Ministry of Truth where he is responsible for rewriting historical records to reflect the party's current ideology. Winston is secretly disillusioned with the party and begins to question its policies. Winston meets and falls in love with Julia, a fellow party member who shares his feelings of rebellion. They begin a forbidden affair and start to take small steps to resist the party's control. However, Winston and Julia's rebellion is discovered by the party and they are arrested and tortured until they betray each other. Winston is eventually brainwashed into loving the party and its leader, Big brother and is released back into society as a loyal party member. Throughout the novel, Orwell explores the themes of government surveillance, propaganda manipulation and the suppression of individual freedom. The party's slogan, war is peace, freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength reflects its strategy of controlling the population through language and ideology. The party uses technology such as teles screens and the thought police to monitor and control people's behavior and thoughts. The party also employs newspeak a language designed to limit people's ability to express dissenting ideas. The novel ends with Winston fully accepting the party's control and loving Big Brother. The bleak and oppressive society depicted in 1984 inches serves as a warning against the dangers of totalitarianism and the importance of protecting individual freedom and privacy.