1984 Winston

Winston Smith is a minor member of the ruling Party in London, chief city of Airstrip One, the third most populous of the provinces of Oceania. Winston is a thin, frail, and philosophical thirty-nine-year-old. He detests the totalitarian control and enforced repression distinguishing his government and wants to achieve freedom and independence. Winston, who is the protagonist of the novel, perceives the harsh ethics and domination of the Party, Big Brother, and the Thought Police institute.

Meditative and curious, Winston is frantic to understand how and why the Party exhibits absolute power in Oceania. He observes the psychological and physical manipulation of the people by the government and surroundings of the environment which is present. Throughout London, Winston sees posters showing a man gazing down over the words Ў°BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOUЎ± everywhere he goes. The citizens are told that Big Brother is the leader of the nation and the head of the Party, but Winston can never determine whether or not he actually exists.

The Party does not allow for independent thought of the people. Telescreens in each citizenЎЇs room habitually discharge propaganda designed to make the failures and deficiencies of the Party appear to be triumphant successes. Everywhere they go, citizens are continuously reminded, especially by means of the ubiquitous signs reading Ў°BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU,Ў± that the authorities are scrutinizing them. The Party weakens family structure by putting children into an organization called the Junior Spies, which brainwashes and encourages them to spy on their parents and report any instance of disloyalty to the Party. The Party also forces individuals to restrain their sexual desires, treating sex as a mere duty in the creation of new Party members.

In addition to manipulating their minds, the Party also controls the bodies of its subjects. The Party constantly watches for any sign of disloyalty, to the point that, as Winston observes, even a tiny facial twitch could lead to an arrest. The Party forces its members to undergo mass morning-exercises called the Physical Jerks.