ipl-logo

Brief Summary Of The Novel 'The Big Brother By Tim O' Brien

1131 Words5 Pages

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 …show more content…

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

Show More
Related
503 Words | 3 Pages

Winston Smith was one of the few people who dared to attempt to rebel against the government. His need for companionship “ He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the monster. He was alone” (page 28), and hatred for the Party “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” (page 20), drove him to commit his first act of rebellion, writing in his journal.

Read More
220 Words | 1 Pages

Winston Smith is not crazy, nevertheless, he lets himself be brainwashed by Ingsoc. Ingsoc, the ruling political party in 1984, controls its population through by brainwashing its citizens and using brutal fear tactics, forcing its people into submission, like Winston Smith, an inhabitant of Oceania. For example, one of the principles of the party is that Ingsoc and its leader, Big Brother, have always existed and will always exist. This ideal contradicts Winston’s direct memory of a time before Oceania, even so, Winston lies to himself and never forces himself to face the truth. The truth is a side-thought to Winston, which ultimately leads him to be caught by the Thought Police.

Read More
498 Words | 2 Pages

Constitutional Convention The beginnings of the Convention (pre-constitution) began when Governor Edmund Randolph of Virginia presented and defended a plan for a new structure of government (called the "Virginia Plan") that had been chiefly drafted by fellow Virginia delegate, James Madison. The Virginia Plan called for a strong national government with both branches of the legislative branch apportioned by population. The plan gave the national government the power to legislate "in all cases in which the separate States are incompetent" and even gave a proposed national Council of Revision a veto power over state legislatures. Delegates from smaller states, and states less sympathetic to broad federal powers, opposed many of the provisions in the Virginia Plan.

Read More
498 Words | 2 Pages

While discussing what would happen if they were to be caught by the Thought Police, Winston tells of vivid acts that they would do to get a confession out of the both of them. Winston tell Julia that “[he] confesses, they’ll shoot [her], and if [he] refuse[s] to confess they’ll shoot [her] just the same” (Orwell 166). Winston then goes on in grave detail about what he thinks goes on in the Ministry of Love, he guesses that they is “torture, drugs, [and] delicate instruments that registered [one’s] nervous reaction” so that the truth “could not be kept hidden” from them (Orwell 167). This powerful use of imagery creates a very ominous outlook of Winston’s and Julia’s future to come.

Read More
773 Words | 4 Pages

In George Orwell’s novel 1984, protagonist Winston Smith struggles to maintain his individuality, beliefs, and values while being under the totalitarian government control. As a citizen, Winston secretly rebels against the ruling Party. Although he attempts to challenge the power of the Party, Winston encounters many characters that drive him to his demise, such as Charrington, O’Brien, and Julia. In addition, his own decisions lead him to a labyrinth of problems. Eventually, the Party accomplishes its goal: to brainwash Winston and all other citizens.

Read More
748 Words | 3 Pages

In Winston’s believes, liberation is an entity hidden behind a mist of futility, an endless cycle of failed uprisings caused by the insolence of the general masses. The cycle also represents the situation that Winston finds himself within, regardless of his awareness he is still paralyzed by the irrational animalistic instinct to cower in fear of the party’s promised punishment. Resulting in his apathy towards revolution which causes him to abstain from any true revolutionary undertaking; as a result, the cycle of despair continues infinitely. Moreover, the paradox may highlight the extent of Winston’s indoctrination by the party. Winston views the revolution as fantastical due to the Proles oblivious nature, which is an assumption that is made by Winson as a result of party propaganda, which states that all “proles and animals are free”.

Read More
404 Words | 2 Pages

The novel describes the journey of Winston Smith as he rebels against the Party and tries to maintain his human qualities. By creating a totalitarian government in the novel 1984, George Orwell is able to express how important humanity is to not only Winston but also

Read More
1263 Words | 6 Pages

Regrettably, things take a turn for the worse; after Winston’s torture in the Ministry of Love he no longer possesses the intellect and willpower to be a rebel. Winston’s inner insurgent is absent as he sits in the Chestnut Tree Café, drinking his victory gin, playing chess. For the first time, Winston is able to separate the mind from the body, “under the table Winston’s feet made convulsive movements. He had not stirred from his seat, but in his mind he was with the crowds outside, cheering himself deaf” (Orwell 297). Simply by doing this, Orwell presents how in the end, conformity will triumph over

Read More
720 Words | 3 Pages

Step into the dystopian world of George Orwell's 1984 and witness the chilling consequences of a government's absolute power over its citizens. The government is named the Inner Party, ruling over Oceania, known as present-day England. The Inner Party rules through a figurehead named Big Brother. The main character Winston Smith belongs to the Outer Party and is the only person who sees past the Party's lies. The Inner Party legitimized its control of the Outer Party through surveillance which instilled fear and paranoia among the people in the Outer Party.

Read More
793 Words | 4 Pages

The main character Winston Smith is a member of the outer party who works at the ministry of truth. He didn’t pick this job, big brother did. The leader of the land doesn’t give freedom to anyone. Winston is under the impression that his society is very oppressive. That builds more thought as to why he wanted to leave the country.

Read More
2740 Words | 11 Pages

The main character in this story is Winston Smith who in constantly living in fear of what The Party will do to him if he is caught saying something negative about them or about Big Brother, who is the leader of The Party. An example of Winston being controlled by fear is when Julia, a woman who was following him, sent him a letter saying that she loved him. “drew the next batch of work toward him, with the scrap of paper on top of it. He flattened it out. On it was written, in a large unformed handwriting: I love you.”

Read More
1176 Words | 5 Pages

Furthermore, in 1984, Winston Smith entrapped in the dystopian society Oceania with the ideas of totalitarianism, confinement, and control. capable of ordinary human feeling. The people of Oceania, "[Are not] capable of ordinary feeling [and] everything will be dead inside [them]" (Orwell 323). In response, Winston is trying to escape and fight the system. He is aware of the oppression of Big Brother and understand the dictatorship the community faces.

Read More
1205 Words | 5 Pages

How does Orwell create a sense of isolation in 1984? Orwell depicts isolation as a fundamental factor in Winston's demise, as the Party's persistence in severing all his ties with other people, ultimately results in his one-minded nature that makes him give into their demands. O'Brien states that in the 'face of pain, their are no heroes' showing how Winston is isolated in his rebellion, and that as an individual he is powerless against the Party's omnipotence, because eventually he will isolate himself and save his own skin over others. This is seen near the end of the novel, where Winston states:' do it to Julia! Rip her face off, tear her skin off!'

Read More
563 Words | 3 Pages

Big Brother constantly watches over its citizens through the use of telescreens. “The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously.. Any sound would be picked

Read More
501 Words | 3 Pages

In the 1984 novel , Winston Smith is not like the rest of the people in his society. He hates Big brother . In book 3 of the novel Winston is put into the Ministry of love, Where there are four big telescreens monitoring his every move. Winston shares a cell with a few people including his neighbor Mr. Parson who was turned in for a thought crime. While winston shares a cell with a few people some of them get dragged to a horrifying room, room 101.

Read More

More about Brief Summary Of The Novel 'The Big Brother By Tim O' Brien

Related Topics

Open Document