Title: Nineteen Eighty-Four - Wikipedia
Headings: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
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Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel
Contents
Background and title
Plot
Characters
Main characters
Secondary characters
Unseen characters
World in novel
Ingsoc
Ministries of Oceania
Ministry of Peace
Ministry of Plenty
Ministry of Truth
Ministry of Love
Doublethink
Political geography
The Revolution
The War
Living standards
Themes
Nationalism
Futurology
Censorship
Surveillance
Newspeak appendix
Sources for literary motifs
Influences
Critical reception
Adaptations in other media
Translations
Cultural impact
Brave New World comparisons
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
Further reading
External links
Electronic editions
Film versions

Content: The novel also bears significant similarities in plot and characters to Koestler's Darkness at Noon, which Orwell had reviewed and highly praised. The original manuscript for Nineteen Eighty-Four is Orwell's only surviving literary manuscript. It is presently held at the John Hay Library at Brown University. Plot
In the year 1984, civilization has been damaged by world war, civil conflict, and revolution. Airstrip One (formerly known as Great Britain) is a province of Oceania, one of the three totalitarian super-states that rule the world. It is ruled by the "Party" under the ideology of " Ingsoc " (a Newspeak shortening of "English Socialism") and the mysterious leader Big Brother, who has an intense cult of personality. The Party brutally purges out anyone who does not fully conform to their regime using the Thought Police and constant surveillance through Telescreens (two-way televisions), cameras, and hidden microphones. Those who fall out of favour with the Party become "unpersons", disappearing with all evidence of their existence destroyed. In London, Winston Smith is a member of the Outer Party, working at the Ministry of Truth, where he rewrites historical records to conform to the state's ever-changing version of history. Winston revises past editions of The Times, while the original documents are destroyed after being dropped into ducts leading to the memory hole.