1984 Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
1984 follows Winston Smith, a low-level official in the totalitarian state of Oceania, who secretly hates the Party that watches and controls every citizen. He falls in love with Julia, joins what he thinks is a resistance, is betrayed and is broken by torture until he truly loves Big Brother.
The novel gave the world words like Big Brother, thoughtcrime, doublethink and Newspeak.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Winston Smith | Party member who secretly rebels |
| Julia | Young woman who becomes Winston's lover |
| O'Brien | Inner Party official Winston trusts, who traps him |
| Big Brother | Face of the Party, perhaps not a real person |
| Mr. Charrington | Kindly shopkeeper who is really Thought Police |
| Emmanuel Goldstein | The state's official enemy and supposed rebel leader |
What is the world of 1984 like?
The world is split between three superstates permanently at war. Winston lives in London, in Airstrip One, part of Oceania. Telescreens in every room watch and listen. The Party rewrites history constantly, the Thought Police arrest anyone who even thinks the wrong thing, and a new language, Newspeak, is designed to make rebellious thoughts impossible to express.
Winston works at the Ministry of Truth, altering old newspapers so that the past always agrees with the Party.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens between Winston and Julia?
Winston begins a forbidden diary. A dark-haired girl from the Fiction Department slips him a note saying she loves him. Julia is a cheerful rebel who breaks the rules for pleasure rather than politics. They meet in the countryside and then rent a room above Mr. Charrington's junk shop, where there seems to be no telescreen.
↑ Back to the topHow does O'Brien trap them?
Winston has long believed that O'Brien, a member of the Inner Party, secretly shares his views. O'Brien invites them to his flat, claims to belong to the Brotherhood, a resistance led by Goldstein, and gives Winston Goldstein's forbidden book.
As Winston and Julia read it in their room, a voice speaks from behind a picture on the wall: a hidden telescreen. Soldiers burst in. Mr. Charrington turns out to be an officer of the Thought Police.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens in the Ministry of Love?
In the Ministry of Love, O'Brien himself tortures Winston for months, explaining that the Party wants power purely for its own sake. He makes Winston believe that two and two can make five if the Party says so.
Winston keeps one last loyalty: he has not betrayed Julia in his heart. In Room 101 he is faced with his worst fear, rats, in a cage strapped to his face. He screams for them to do it to Julia instead, and the last part of him breaks.
↑ Back to the topHow does 1984 end?
Released, Winston spends his days drinking gin at a cafe. He meets Julia once; both admit they betrayed each other, and they feel nothing. Hearing news of a great victory on the telescreen, Winston looks up at Big Brother's face and weeps with gratitude. The struggle is over: he has learned to love Big Brother.
An appendix about Newspeak, written in the past tense, has led some readers to suggest that the Party eventually fell.
↑ Back to the topMore about 1984
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.