Structure

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Part I

The story begins in medias res, starting with the famous sentence: “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” (p. 3).

Because Nineteen Eighty-Four is a science-fiction story, the first part of the book introduces us to its unusual setting, giving us detailed descriptions of the social and political realities of London in the future world of 1984. We quickly learn that the society of the future is a totalitarian state that relies on mass surveillance to keep the citizens under strict control (pp. 4-5). We also learn that society is led by the mysterious Big Brother, who can be se…

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Part II

The second part of the book starts with Winston’s first true meeting with Julia, in which she hands him a note declaring her love for him (p. 111-114). This leads to their secret love affair, which allows both of them a temporary escape from the dark and hopeless reality they live in.

The middle section is the most optimistic and hopeful part of the book, though ongoing tension is still created because of the secrecy of Winston and Julia’s relationship and the constant fear that they might be discovered. They rent a small room above Mr. Charrington’s junk shop, where they believe themselves to be safe. This leads to a minor tension point where Winston’s fear of rats is revealed (p. 151), which foreshadows his final tortures…

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Part III

The final part of the story mainly takes place within the Ministry of Love, the government’s law enforcement and torture headquarters.

Within the Ministry, Winston experiences all kinds of torture and his will is slowly broken down. First, he is merely beaten by the guards like a common prisoner, but afterwards he is experiences advanced psychological torture at the hands of members of the Inner Party. Eventually, O’Brien arrives and reveals he was lying about being a member of the Brotherhood - and he begins to torture Winston in even more extreme ways.

Though Winston eventually surrenders his mind to the Party’s teachings, he remains unwilling to give up his love for Ju…