Although 1984 has come and gone George Orwell's masterpiece has endured. In his prophetic vision the world has split into three separate super countries and the economy of each is based on war with another. The setting of the book is Airstrip one, a city that is present day London, in the supercountry of Oceana. The year is 1984.

The first character introduced in the story is Winston Smith. A tall, thin man with above average intellect, Winston seems to be condemned by the parties views from the start. His attitude for life changes as the story progresses. He starts as someone who has little to live for, but after he starts his rebellion from the opressiveness of the state he feels he has something to live for, although already considering himself dead. By the end of Orwell's novel, Smith is living in a state of near total apathy, and living only because he has no desire to either live or die.

1984 starts with a first person narration that is used effectively to show the universal fear of the Thought Police and Winston's fear of everything connected to Ingsoc, or English socialism.The Party, as it is simply called, is the Governing body of the superstate Oceana. The figurehead leader of The Party is a person known only as Big Brother, a brother that is always watching you.

The ever vigilant eyes of Big Brother are the Thought Police, who monitor everyone, everywhere through the use of telescreens. Designed to broadcast party propaganda, telescreens also have a videocamera which transmits the actvities of all those within sight of the screen to the Thought Police.

The party controls not only the lives of people through the use of telescreens, but reality itself. They do this by altering the past, a fact easily concealed by The Party's principles of doublethink. The best explination of doublethink are examples provided by The Party's slogans. These are: WAR IS PEACE; SLAVERY IS FREEDOM; and IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.

Winston Smith's job at the Ministry of Truth, updating the past by falsifying records in accordance with the principles of Ingsoc, provides the catalyst for his descent into unorthodoxy. It is here that he meets Julia, a young, pretty woman, who comes to love Smith. In Winston and Julia's secret meetings it is revealed that Julia is also above average intellegence. Both of them meet a man named O'Brien in the Ministry of Truth. Under O'Brien's seeming friendship they each take vows to disrupt the Party in any way they can, no matter who they hurt.

To this end Winston and Julia rent a room with a proletarian shopkeeper named Charrington. It is a place where they belive themselves to be safe, away from telescreens, and out of view. Much time is spent there reading a book given to them by O'Brien. The book is entitled The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism and written by a supposed revolutionary and leader of a revolutionary group named the Brotherhood. It is during one stay there they are captured by the thought police for unortodox behavior. To their suprise it is the shopkeeper Mr. Charrington who was the member of the thought police. Though he is very instrimental in the demise of Winston and Julia, Mr. Charrington is not the member of the Thought Police responsible for their inital suspecion. This honor falls to their friend O'Brian.

After their capture Julia and Winston are taken deep into the complex of the Ministry of Love, where they are tortured. It is here that O'Brian reveals his identity as a member of the Thought Police and tortures each of them. Winstons torture is detailed and involves many different methods of breaking both his body and spirit. At the same time he is reindoctrinated with The Party's propaganda. In torture room 101 he faces his worst fear, rats.

Winston and Julia's tortures are complete in every way. They are transfored form intelligent, strong willed rebels into a broken spirited puppet of the party.