Part 1, Chapter 1
Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary
We are introduced to Winston Smith and the world in which he lives. He is a very aged
thirty-nine year old man, with a small, thin stature. He works in one of the four Ministries
that serve as the entire government of Oceania. The Ministry names and functions are
as follows: The Ministry of Truth, which regulates all forms of media, entertainment, and
arts; the Ministry of Peace, which presides over all aspects of war; the Ministry of Love,
which is a form of judicial system; and the Ministry of Plenty, which governs economic
affairs.
The description of life in his world is bleak at best. He lives in a filthy building that smells
of boiled cabbage. The elevator is always broken and his flat (apartment) is on the
seventh floor. He has a terrible time getting up and down the stairs on account of a
constantly oozing and aching varicose ulcer just above his right ankle. When he finally
gets home, he is greeted by the same type of environment that he just left at work:
constant surveillance by Big Brother, the government. This constant watch is kept on
him by a telescreen, which covers the wall and is constantly monitoring not only his
every action and word, but also his facial expressions. The slightest notion through
gesture or appearance against the Party means death or worse. He must, in every
aspect of his being, be a member of the Party, the group that supports Big Brother. The
Thought Police are always there to enforce that loyalty.
Every description paints a picture of a cold, dark, empty, colorless existence. The Party
Slogans, "WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH,"
are plastered everywhere the eye can see. Along with them, a portrait of Big Brother
glaring with the caption, "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU."
The overwhelming and growing discontent that Winston feels is immediately evident.
Although it is a risk to his life, he has somehow procured a pen, ink and a journal. There
is a small alcove in his flat that just barely escapes the watch of the telescreen. He uses
this as his sacred space to be himself and write. All of these actions are punishable by
death. Even having a thought against the Party, which is called Thought crime, is
labeled as an offense. When he begins to write he realizes that he is not exactly sure of
the date, his exact age, or of his own history or that of the world. He thinks that it is April
4, 1984. He cannot really be sure of anything, however, because it is the intention and
priority of the Party to systematically erase the past and replace it with whatever they
want to create. In the 1950's, a process began to dissolve the past through destruction
of all newspapers, books, etc. and subsequently rewrite all of history to suit the Party.
Another part of this process includes the creation of a new language called Newspeak
and complete dissolution of the current form of language known as Oldspeak. This
process was to be complete by 2050. The new language will be exponentially shorter
than the old language and void of emotion or imagery. For instance, all synonyms of
good and bad, as well as the word bad will cease to exist. In their place will be the
words good and ungood. In order to say very good, one would say doubleplusgood, and
to say very bad, doubleplusungood would be used. The new vocabulary is being
constructed strictly for political purposes. Words such as honor, morality, democracy
and science are cut out of the language completely. The word free has been retained
but only in the following type of context: "The floor is free from litter."
