Nineteen Eighty-fourNineteen Eighty-Four, sometimes published as 1984, is a dystopian novel by George Orwell. The novel is set in Airstrip One (formerly known as Great Britain), a province of the superstate Oceania in a world of perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance and public manipulation dictated by a political system in the government's invented language, Newspeak, called Ingsoc under the control of a privileged Inner Party elite that persecutes all individualism and independent thinking as "thoughtcrimes." The tyranny is epitomized by Big Brother, the quasi-divine Party leader who enjoys an intense cult of personality, but who may not even exist. Nineteen Eighty-Four popularized the adjective Orwellian, which describes official deception, secret surveillance, and manipulation of the past by a totalitarian or authoritarian state. |
Common terms and phrases
actually already believe Big Brother body bombs called cell Charrington Comrade confess consciousness Crimestop dark diary door doublethink dream Eastasia enemy enormous Eurasia everything exist eyes face feeling felt fingers girl glass Goldstein hair hand happened human impossible Ingsoc Inner Party inside Julia kind knew lived looked meaning memory merely metres mind Ministry of Love Ministry of Plenty Ministry of Truth Minutes Hate never Newspeak words Nineteen Eighty-Four O'Brien Oceania Oldspeak once one's Orwell Outer Party pain Party member past perhaps person piece possible proles remember Revolution round say the bells seemed seen shouting side simply smell somewhere sort speakwrite stopped street suddenly Syme talking telescreen tell thing Thought Police thoughtcrime turned victory vocabulary voice walked wall whole Winston Winston Smith woman