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Breaking the Rules
Winston, after having a shot of Victory Gin and smoking a Victory Cigarrete, writes in his diary. He is a bit drunk and so he writes "DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER". At this point he knows his death is inevitable. He hides the diary. The journal represents a symbol of freedom. The party doesn't want him to have that freedom, that is how he knows he is dead. -
Exposition
Its a cold bright day in April.The tone is almost mystery. Winston Smith heads home from work for lunch. The elevator is not working so he goes up the stairs. While walking up, he sees the posters of big brother and they say "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU". His apartment has a telescreen in it. The telescreen has no way to turn off so he turns it down a little bit but every word is still distinguishable. He has an alcove where the telescreen can't see him. -
Period: to
1984 timeline
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Syme
At Winston's work he performs the task of changing past records to what the party wants. At lunch, Winston eats with his coworker, Syme. Syme works in the research department. He is currently revising the 11th edition of the Newspeak dictionary. Winston thinks that Syme is" ... too smart for his own good..." and that he will be vaporized soon. -
Julia
While listening to syme, winston looks around. Suddenly a co-worker that winston likes but hates looks at him. Winston thinks that she is a member of the thought police and that she knows about his thought crime. -
Foreshadowing
That night, winston writes in his diary more. He writes about his marrige with katherine who disapperaed. He thinks about how she was brainwashed to do only "... her duty to the empire..." Winston wants only to be loved but then realizes that is thoughtcrime. This foreshadows his trouble ahead. -
The Prole Stroll
Winston goes for a walk. He wanders into a pub. He starts talking with an old proletariat that might remember how times were before the party. The proletariat is too incoherent to answer. Winston then goes to the store where he bought the diary. He buys a piece of coral because of its connection to the past. When he leaves he sees Julia. Seeing her makes him think she is spying on him and he contemplates killing her. -
Julia's secret
4 days later as winston is walking down a hall at work, he sees Julia coming towards him with her arm in a sling. As she nears him she trips and falls on her arm. Winston automatically goes to help her and she slips him a note that says "I love you". He feels a sudden desire to live. -
The Meeting
2 days later in the canteen, Winston manages to sit at a table with Julia. They arrange a meeting for that day in a crowded place. -
The Second Meeting
After they met, they made another plan to meet in the woods. They meet and go off to a place in the woods. They make love and fall asleep. Later they go their separate ways home. The forest symbolizes the golden country that exists in Winston's dreams. -
Rising Action
Over these last and next few weeks Julia and Winston attempt several more meetings but they only succeed once. One of the failed attempts didn't work because of a bomb that went off near them. Through this time they talk about the party's ideas and Winston writes in his journal. A personal connection here is that sometimes you can hate someone because we prejudge them, but once you get to know them they become a close friend. -
The shop's room
Winston decides to go back to the place where he bought the journal and rent the room above it. This becomes a common meeting place for him and Julia. -
O'brien
O'brien, the equivelant of Winston's boss, calls him to his office. O'brien says he has been using too many oldspeak words and that he should use words from the tenth edition of newspeak. He gives Winston his address and asks him to go to his home to look at it. -
Meeting O'brien
Winston decides to go meet with O'brien but he brings Julia with him. It turns out that O'brien is part of the Brotherhood which is against the party. WInston and Julia join the brotherhood but they won't do anything to jeapordize their relationship. A personal connection for me here. Some people you know and call a freind but how well do you actually know them? -
The Ministry of Love
Winston and julia are in their meeting place and he reads the brotherhoods book to her. They fall asleep. When they wake up, the voice of the shop owner speaks to them through a microphone and it says "you are the dead". Soldiers surround the house. Winston and Julia are beaten and taken to the Ministry of Love. -
Room 101 and the Climax
Winston is taken to room 101. This is the place where you face your greatest fears. Winston is shown a cage of rats about to eat him. He cries "Do it to Julia!" Because he spoke those words they believed that he no longer felt alleigence towards her. They let him out of the ministry. -
Falling Action and Conclusion
Winston has been changed into a quiet man. He saw Julia a few days back and they talked but they don't feel the same about each other anymore. Winston spends most of his time playing chess and thinking. Oceana was at war with Eastasia again. He thinks about how freedom is the right to say 2+2=4 but how the party makes it equal 5. HIs last words are "I love Big Brother". -
Theme
I beileve this story was written for the people. It is a template for the people so they don't have to experience a world like the one depicted in George Orwell's 1984 novel. It was not written so the government can learn how to take over. If you look around the world today you can see evidence of this very same thing happening to us. For example, the politically correct words. This is the equivalent of the 11th edition of Newspeak. Don't let the government take over our country.
