Nineteen Eighty-Four

Written in 1949, George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four portrays a dreadful futuristic human condition under a repressive regime. The setting is Oceania, where individual free thought is banned. “Big Brother Is Watching You” becomes the moto of dictatorial policies that aim at controlling not only people’s behaviour but also their unorthodox thoughts.
Winston Smith, the protagonist of the story, works for the Ministry of Truth, and his mission consists in revising the country’s history by rewriting newspaper articles to manipulate the population and further repress individual liberties. However, Winston later engages in writing a secret diary in which he starts expressing his desires and yearning for freedom. This punishable “thoughtcrime” leads him to Room 101, where he endures severe “re-education” to readjust his seditious thoughts in such a way that his love for Julia turns into loyalty to Big Brother.