Nineteen Eighty-Four facts for kids

A 1947 draft of the first page of Nineteen Eighty-Four, showing how the book was developed.

Nineteen Eighty-Four is a famous novel written by George Orwell in 1948. It tells the story of Winston Smith, who lives in a country called Oceania. In Oceania, a powerful government known as The Party, led by "Big Brother," controls everything. Winston works for The Party and later meets Julia, who also dislikes Big Brother.

Winston's job is to change old news stories and articles. This means no one can see what was written before. If anyone even thinks about the past or goes against The Party, it's called thoughtcrime. Both thoughtcrime and "Facecrime" (showing wrong emotions) are punished very harshly, even by death. The Party also tries to make the English language simpler by removing many words. They do this so people won't be too smart or think too much. People are not allowed to have families in the usual way.

Outside The Party's control are people called proles, who have more freedom. There is also a never-ending war with another nation, Eurasia. Big wars are fought around the world to keep people busy. The sides in these wars sometimes change, but The Party pretends they never did. This means people like Winston have to change all the old articles to match the new story. When news is changed, the old copies are destroyed.

Why Orwell Wrote the Book

Orwell got the idea for Nineteen Eighty-Four when he saw newspapers in London during World War II. They claimed the country had more supplies, even when supplies were actually very low. He started writing a political satire, which is a story that uses humor or exaggeration to criticize politics. He wanted to show what Britain might become in 50 years if things went wrong. He finished the book in December 1948.

The book was not against socialism, which Orwell supported. Instead, it was a warning against totalitarianism. This is a type of government that controls every part of people's lives. Orwell once said that his serious writings were against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism. He explained that Nineteen Eighty-Four showed the terrible things that had already started happening under Communism and Fascism.

The Story's End

At the end of Nineteen Eighty-Four, Winston is taken to the "Ministry of Love," which is actually a prison in Oceania. There, he is tortured and watched all the time by screens. He tries to keep his thoughts secret, but soon he loses control of his mind too. At first, Winston thought a character named O'Brien was his friend against The Party. But O'Brien turns out to be his questioner and torturer.

To avoid being killed, Winston must answer many questions. He also worries about Julia and if she betrayed him. In the end, Winston faces his biggest fear: a cage full of rats. This breaks his spirit, and he gives up fighting. He becomes just another person who fully accepts The Party's rule.

Details of the Endless War==

• When: Early 1970s to the present day in the book
• Where: North Africa
• Who Fights: Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia

Newspeak Language==

Newspeak is a made-up language in Nineteen Eighty-Four. It is the official language of Oceania. George Orwell explained Newspeak at the end of his book. It started from English, but The Party makes the number of words smaller every year.

The Party wants to stop people from rebelling. So, they destroy words like "freedom" and "love." They believe that if there is no word for something, people cannot think about it. This is supposed to stop thoughtcrime, which is thinking against The Party. For example, a person could not say "I want to be free" because there would be no word for "free."

Orwell used Newspeak to make fun of what was later called "politically correct" speech. "Thoughtcrime" also made fun of censorship, which is when information is controlled or removed. Newspeak is also used for military reasons. For example, Oceania's Ministry of Peace (called "Minipax" in Newspeak) is actually the war department. Words like "Peace," "Truth," "Love," and "Plenty" were often used in Newspeak to mean the exact opposite of their real meaning. Another Newspeak word, joycamp, means "forced labor camp." Other Newspeak words like crimethink were created by The Party to become laws.

Images for kids

• 

  The John Hay Library at Brown University holds the only surviving manuscript of Nineteen Eighty-Four.

• 

  A 1931 poster from the Soviet Union that says "2 + 2 plus the enthusiasm of the workers = 5." This shows how facts can be changed.

• 

  "Happy 1984" (in Spanish or Portuguese) written on a piece of the Berlin Wall in 2005. It shows a PlayStation controller, suggesting mind control.

• 

  "Big Brother is watching you" painted on a building in Donetsk, Ukraine.

See also

In Spanish: 1984 (novela) para niños