Plot Summary
Winston Smith, a member of the Outer Party, living in the ruins of London and who grew up in the post-World War II United Kingdom. As his parents disappeared in the civil war, the English Socialism Movement ("Ingsoc" in Newspeak) put him in an orphanage for training and employment in the party in power.
His miserable existence consists of living in a one-room apartment, working for a subsistence wage and being half-starved. The anger smells in Winston’s heart; the negative thoughts about The Party explode into an ill-advised note in the special bought journal. Smith completely understands risks and it is absolutely clear that if the note is detected, The Big Brother will notice his eccentric behavior, and as result he will be
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In the Ministry of Love torture chamber, O'Brien tells Smith that he will be cured of his "insanity", which O'Brien claims is undeniably manifest in the form of Winston's hatred for the Party. During a long and complex dialogue, O'Brien reveals, in what is the most important line in the book that the motivation of the Inner Party is not to achieve some future paradise but to retain power, which has become an end in itself. He outlines a terrifying vision of how they will change society and people in order to achieve this, including the abolition of the family, the orgasm and the sex instinct. It will be a society that grows 'more, not less merciless as it refines itself, a society without art, literature or science. During a session, O'Brien explains the purpose of the torture Winston is to alter his way of thinking, not to extract a fake confession, and that once Winston has been cured — that is, once Winston unquestioningly accepts reality as the Party describes it — he then will be executed; electroshock torture will achieve that, continuing until O'Brien decides Winston is