1984 Journal 1

"The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats. At one end of it a colored poster, too large for indoor display, had been tacked to the wall. It depicted simply an enormous face, more than a meter wide: the face of an man of about forty-five, with a heavy black mustache and ruggedly handsome features. Winston made for the stairs. It was no use trying the lift. Even at the best of times it was seldom working, and at present the electric current was cut off during daylight hours. It was part of the economy drive in preparation for Hate Week. The flat was seven flights up, and Winston, who was thirty-nine, and had a varicose ulcer above his right ankle, went slowly, resting several times on the way. On each landing, opposite the lift shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran" (1)

1984 Journal 1

            In 1984, George Orwell describes the hallway of the Victory Mansions in a very decrepit manner. The poor condition of the Victory Mansions describes Orwell’s dislike of the totalitarian government he is describing. The smell of boiled cabbage and the broken elevator helps create a dismal and abused setting Orwell is trying to describe to the readers. The elevator is broken because the government cut off electricity to people during the day to prepare for Hate Week. Orwell creates a scene of total government control by giving everything names. The Victory Mansion and Hate Week both sound very controlling. The names are very one-sided. They force you to accept their meaning. The Victory Mansions force a person to believe they are being given a huge gift but really, the mansions are a significant loss of freedom. The government is forcing you to live in houses they issue to you. Hate Week is also making the people turn into frenzied beasts. The government is taking away the people’s level-headedness and replacing it with rage. The government is omnipresent in Orwell’s 1984. The big propaganda poster says “Big Brother Is Watching” this is how Orwell demonstrates how the people have no power or rights in the socialistic party. The government acchieves complete powerlessness of the people when Orwell describes how the poster’s eyes follow Winston.