Sarah

MODERN CLASSICS: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Nineteen Eighty-Four is set in Great Britain in a world of continuous war, mass government surveillance and public manipulation. The novel is written in the point of view of the main character, Winston. He and other civilians are told how to live their lives and his job is to help the Government rewrite the past. Winston helps the Government to fill in the gaps of Oceania's history. He alters the truth of the party by writing fake news articles to protect the truth of the history of Ingsoc (the party - English socialism in Newspeak) and to keep the general population under control. His job is tiring and repetitive but gives him the best view of whats changing, for example, if Oceania suddenly went to war with Eastasia instead of Eurasia then they would replace every piece of evidence that Oceania and Eurasia were at war with fake articles with bold titles talking of the battles with Eastasia. Winston has to create propaganda.
 * Synopsis on Nineteen Eighty-Four -**


 * George Orwell -**

Eric Arthur Blair, known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist and critic. He is one of the most influential and important English writers. He wrote literary criticism, poetry, fiction and journalism. Orwell is best known for the dystopian novel //Nineteen Eighty-Four// (1949) and the novel //Animal Farm// (1945)//.// His book //Homage to Catalonia// (1938), a novel about his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, is admired greatly, as are his multiple essays on politics, literature, language and culture. In 2008, //The Times// ranked him second on a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945". Orwell was born on the 25th of June 1903 in Motihari in British India, and his death was on the 21st of January 1950 (aged 46) in the University Collage Hospital in London.
 * George Orwell Biography -**


 * Nineteen Eighty-Four book cover -**

The three main characters are Winston Smith and his lover Julia, and O'Brien.
 * Main Characters -**

I feel sick. My hearts racing and my palms are sweaty. It’s a cloudy day. The intensity of the crowd’s excitement makes my ears ring, the cold stone numbs my muddy feet and my clothes irritate my dry skin. It smells dirty, and of damp hay and animals. The town square is packed; nearly every civilian is here. Some people are up in the tall cream buildings that surround us, peering through windows or sitting on roofs. I can smell smoke, rising from fires. I stand in the crowd nervously, people stepping on my feet and breathing down my neck. Warm bodies are pressed up against me. My hands and face are cold. I can see guards holding muskets lining the crowd opposite the guillotine.
 * The Scarlet Pimpernel -**

One brown horse pulling a cart full of people with their hands bound enters through two large doors from under the archway from the Bastille. Above the archway are three French flags swaying in the breeze. It’s some of the Aristocrats. The horse is pulled up and the Aristos unloaded. I can hear some of the women crying, they’re distraught. I can see The Former Duke and the Duchess De Grenoble. The Former Duke is first to be led up to the guillotine. He’s brave and keeps himself together. It reeks of sweat and my stomach is in knots. I have to go along with it or I’ll be caught and beheaded for being against the Republic. I raise my fist into the air and yell along with everyone else. I see the Former Duke whisper something as is put to his knees. A basket is placed in front of him, lined with straw to soak up his blood. The crowd cheers and the civilians look happy. I look away as the guillotine slides down and removes The Former Duke’s head from his shoulders. A man grabs his head from within the basket, holds it high and yells “Death to the Aristocrats! Long live the republic!” the crowd repeating after him. I can hear the sound of the drums being played and echoing off the buildings. There’s a scent of blood that’s being carried by the wind and I feel like I can taste it in my mouth.

The Former Duke’s body is bagged along with his head and placed into a coffin. The lid is nailed on and put onto a cart drawn by a brown and white horse with two other coffins underneath. I turn back around and look ahead. The next Aristo is being brought up the steps to the guillotine. I don’t know if I can conform any longer.

//Sarah Brasier//