Summary

George Orwell's dystopian masterpiece Nineteen Eighty-Four remains one of the most influential and prescient novels of the 20th century. Published in 1949, it depicts a totalitarian future society where critical thought is suppressed under a surveillance state led by the enigmatic Big Brother. The novel introduced concepts like “doublethink” and “thoughtcrime” that have become part of the cultural lexicon. Its themes of government overreach and the manipulation of truth continue to resonate, with the book seeing surges in popularity during political controversies. A film adaptation starring John Hurt was released in 1984, bringing Orwell's chilling vision to the screen. More than 70 years after publication, Nineteen Eighty-Four endures as a warning about the fragility of freedom and democracy.

In the Audible Original dramatization of George Orwell’s classic tale, critically acclaimed actor Andrew Garfield voices the iconic Winston Smith in the full-cast audio drama. Other celebrity narrators include Cynthia Erivo as Julia, Andrew Scott as the alluring, mysterious O’Brien, and Tom Hardy as Big Brother.

Plot

In the dystopian world of 1984, Winston Smith lives in Oceania, a totalitarian superstate controlled by the Party and its figurehead Big Brother. Winston works at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting historical records to match the Party's ever-changing version of events. He secretly hates the Party and dreams of rebellion against its oppressive rule.

Winston begins a forbidden love affair with Julia, a fellow Party member. They meet in secret and share their hatred of the regime. Winston also becomes involved with O'Brien, an Inner Party member who Winston believes is part of an underground resistance movement called the Brotherhood. O'Brien gives Winston a copy of “The Book", a manifesto explaining how the Party maintains power through surveillance, manipulation, and control.

However, Winston and Julia are eventually arrested by the Thought Police. O'Brien is revealed to be a loyal Party member who was setting a trap for Winston. Winston is tortured and brainwashed in the Ministry of Love, forced to betray Julia and accept the Party's ideology. The novel ends with Winston defeated, his spirit broken, and genuinely believing that he loves Big Brother.

Themes

• Totalitarian control and surveillance

• Loss of individual identity and freedom

• Power of language to shape thought

• Manipulation of truth and history

• Dangers of blind loyalty to the state

• Dehumanization and loss of privacy

• Resistance and rebellion against oppression

Setting

George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984 is set in a bleak, totalitarian world in the year 1984. The story takes place in London, the main city of Airstrip One, a province of the superstate Oceania. Oceania is one of three global superpowers, alongside Eurasia and Eastasia, that are locked in a permanent state of war and shifting alliances.

London in 1984 is a grim, run-down city still showing the scars of a nuclear war that occurred decades earlier. The skyline is dominated by four massive pyramidal structures housing the Ministries of Truth, Peace, Love and Plenty - the centers of the ruling Party's power. Most of the city consists of squalid apartment blocks where the Outer Party members live under constant surveillance, while the downtrodden proletariat masses inhabit neglected slums.

Beyond London, much of Airstrip One is a bleak industrial landscape dotted with labor camps. The countryside occasionally provides a temporary escape for the novel's protagonists, but even there the eye of Big Brother is ever-present. While the war rages in distant lands, Airstrip One's inhabitants live in a state of perpetual deprivation, manipulation and control at the hands of the totalitarian government.

Characters

• Winston Smith: The protagonist, a 39-year-old man who quietly rebels against the Party's oppressive rule. He works in the Ministry of Truth rewriting historical records.

• Julia: Winston's lover and fellow rebel against the Party. She is a young woman who works in the Fiction Department of the Ministry of Truth.

• O'Brien: An Inner Party member who poses as a member of the resistance to trap Winston, then tortures him into submission. He represents the Party's power and cruelty.

• Big Brother: The figurehead leader of Oceania and the Party, whose face appears everywhere. It's unclear if he actually exists as a real person.

• Emmanuel Goldstein: The supposed leader of the resistance movement against the Party. Like Big Brother, it's uncertain if he truly exists.

• Mr. Charrington: An antique shop owner who rents a room to Winston and Julia, but is revealed to be a member of the Thought Police.

• Syme: Winston's colleague at the Ministry of Truth who works on the Newspeak dictionary. He is eventually vaporized for being too intelligent.

• Parsons: Winston's neighbor, a loyal and unquestioning Party member who is eventually arrested by his own children for thoughtcrime.

Quick facts

• Orwell wrote most of 1984 while seriously ill with tuberculosis on the remote Scottish island of Jura.

• The novel's original title was “The Last Man in Europe” before Orwell changed it to 1984.

• The character of Big Brother was likely inspired by posters of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

• Sales of 1984 surged after the 2013 NSA surveillance revelations by Edward Snowden.

• Orwell's wife Eileen wrote a poem called “End of the Century: 1984", which may have inspired the book's title.

• The torture scenes in Room 101 were based on Orwell's experiences of being beaten in a Spanish prison.

• 1984 was banned in the Soviet Union until 1988 due to its anti-communist themes.

• Orwell drew inspiration for the Ministry of Truth from his time working at the BBC during World War II.

• The famous slogan “2 + 2 = 5” was based on Soviet propaganda about exceeding production quotas.

• By 1989, 1984 had been translated into 65 languages, more than any other English novel at the time.

About the Author

George Orwell, born Eric Arthur Blair in 1903, was one of England's most influential writers and social critics of the 20th century. Best known for his novels Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell was a prolific essayist, journalist, and literary critic whose work continues to resonate decades after his death. His writing is characterized by lucid prose, sharp social commentary, and a fierce opposition to totalitarianism in all its forms.

Orwell's experiences shaped his political views and literary voice. After serving with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, he became disillusioned with imperialism. His time fighting for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War cemented his commitment to democratic socialism and his hatred of authoritarianism. These ideals permeate his most famous works, with Animal Farm serving as an allegorical critique of Stalinism and Nineteen Eighty-Four painting a chilling portrait of life under an oppressive regime.

Beyond his novels, Orwell was renowned for his essays and journalism. Works like Down and Out in Paris and London and The Road to Wigan Pier demonstrated his talent for vivid reportage on social conditions. His essay “Politics and the English Language” remains influential for its examination of the relationship between clear writing and clear thinking. Orwell believed strongly in the power of plain language as a defense against political manipulation.

Though he died at just 46, Orwell left an outsized literary and cultural legacy. His name has become synonymous with warnings about government overreach, surveillance, and the corruption of language by those in power. Terms he coined like “Big Brother,” “thoughtcrime,” and “Orwellian” have entered common usage. While some have tried to claim Orwell for particular ideologies, his independent mind and commitment to truth-telling defy easy categorization. He remains a towering figure in English literature, cherished for his moral vision and uncompromising prose.