Important Events In The Novel 1984

The timeline of an individual’s life can include a lot of details including the individual themselves and the individual’s surroundings. Some events happen for reason, others do not. An individual will experience numerous events throughout their lifetime that have extensive effect, not only on the individual, but also on their whole identity and surroundings. In situations, individuals wish they can somehow predict their future. However, in some cases, the individual experiences hints indicating what will take place in the future. In George Orwell’s novel 1984, the events that foreshadow Winston’s eventual fate and the outcome of the novel are his purchase of the diary, the memory of his family, and his fear of rats.

In part one of the novel,

The Party controls everyone’s actions and words; however, Winston, being rebellious towards the Party goes against them and purchases a diary from “a frowzy little junk-shop” (8). Although purchasing a diary is not illegal considering “there are no longer any laws” (8), the decision of purchasing the diary was risky because “if detected it was reasonably certain that it would be punished by death, or at least by twenty-five years in a force-labour camp” (8). The event of Winston purchasing a diary and openly writing his feelings and ideas foreshadow his arrest toward the end of the novel. As Winston writes his rebellious thoughts, he takes his first steps to his fate at the Ministry of Love. “By sitting in the alcove, and keeping well back, Winston was able to remain outside the range of the telescreen, so far as sight went. He could be heard, of course, but so long as he stayed in his present position he could not be seen. It was partly the unusual geography of the room that had suggested to him the thing that he was about to do” (8). Winston buys the diary from Mr. Charrington. He trusts that this man, Mr. Charrington, is in fact a harmless junk dealer

His interaction with the rats at the end of the novel complete his transformation from Party hater to Big Brother lover. “There are three stages in your re-integration…There is learning, there is understanding, and there is acceptance. It is time for you enter upon the second stage” (273). Winston declaring his fear of rats along with Julia’s betrayal foreshadow his torture taking place in Room 101, where prisoners experience their worst fears. “The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world” (296). Winston meets the basics of his fears. His fears break him which make him learn what he must do. “The worst thing in the world varies from individual to individual. It may be burial alive, or death by fire, or by drowning, or by impalement, or fifty other deaths. These are cases where it is some quite trivial thing, not even fatal” (296). Winston’s deathly fear of rats ultimately illustrates how Big Brother is the only way to get out of his fear. “Do you remember the moment of panic that used to occur in your dreams? There was a wall of blackness in front of you, and a roaring sound in your ears. There was something terrible on the other side of the wall. You know that you knew what it was, but you dared not drag it into the open. It was the rats that were on the other side of the wall” (297). The fact that he has such a large fear foreshadows that eventually Winston is going to accept Big