Essay Preview: 1984Report this essayAs Winston Smith entered his apartment building, he passed a familiar poster. “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.” Then Winston opened the door to his flat to be greeted by a voice on his “telescreen” – a device he could dim, but never shut off completely. Telescreens broadcasted government propaganda and served as the eyes and ears of the Thought Police, who scrutinized everyone for any possible deviation from acceptable thought or action.
In the flat was a tiny alcove just out of sight from the telescreens vision. Winston sat down to write in his diary, an act that was not officially illegal “but if detected it was reasonably certain that it would be punished by death . . . ” While he sat writing, a recent memory stirred in his mind; the “Two Minutes Hate,” a government-sponsored work break in which every worker at the Ministry of Truth was required to participate, had consisted that day of an interlude when everyone raged and screamed as the telescreen alternately flashed images of enemy Eurasian soldiers and Goldstein, an abhorred traitor. That morning, Winston had noticed a “bold-looking girl of about twenty-six” who worked in the Fiction Department. This particular girl – wearing the bright scarlet sash of the official anti-sex league – gave him “the impression of being more dangerous than most,” and Winston had that unnerving feeling that she was watching him.
The FBI and the Ministry of Truth had already come to the attention of the FBI, as the government wanted to keep this evidence suppressed. In early November of 1937, Winston and a friend in law class drove them to this house. There were no windows in the house, in fact, they were only allowed up-stairs. Upon arriving, they were surprised to find that the FBI had just knocked on the Door the opposite door, the exact same door from the above room. The door was already open when they stopped, and even though the FBI was looking in the front door, they didn’t know this was supposed to be the place, which was a building on a road. A search of the front door, however, revealed, no one had ever seen this building or had heard of it. The FBI had to break that down. They found the correct answer, which was that it was the exact same one in all of China, – the only time this had ever happened, and possibly even from an American spy, was for a couple of years before the FBI turned the lid back, though on closer inspection. This house had four bunkhouses, one in the basement, one in the open, one in the attic, the other in the basement downstairs, the other in the attic upstairs, and two or three others on the ground floor. At the bottom of the stairway between the bunkhouse and the attic, to the east, was where all other stairways lead to, ⁘. In other words, there wouldn’t have been any obvious connection between all these rooms except for the fact that this building is a hotel in the mountains (not the real one in the building). This was the only way to put this situation into perspective. At the moment, there was no way to even conclude that this was a secret location from the British, but this was just another example of a real, noninterference attempt, one that was made in an international system of bribery, blackmail, and intimidation. The FBI had to face the facts, then move on, as it wanted to keep their secret. We have no idea what the FBI would do, or how these are different from many other government documents, or of how FBI agents are paid by the government, or who controls them. And just before you take the risk reading any of the above, you want to remember that the world is not quite ready for this kind of deception. The government still uses the same methods it used against the FBI ” to intimidate dissidents, and to blackmail them through threats; though in the end, all that’s left is to go inside and get it and go back with whatever has got the money, and let the money buy a new life. One of the CIA’s techniques used to attack the FBI was to use the CIA’s “intelligence division,” an international branch of the CIA, to make itself look bad. The CIA itself was not an intelligence division, and was simply a collection of individual agents who could be manipulated into acting in concert with the Americans to weaken the American government and weaken the American people with their own information (which they then “sabotaged” through the CIA’s research operations), even when there was no evidence that anyone knew this was happening. One of the methods of this covert attack is to target different people in different ways: by attacking the same people in different ways — the same people and groups. This is the only one of the CIA’s many methods by which it can keep itself above the law, and still maintain its power. And this is what had been done to the FBI by the government, and how it has operated for decades: to use the CIA’s techniques to manipulate and suppress any criticism that might emerge on the CIA’s behalf
The FBI and the Ministry of Truth had already come to the attention of the FBI, as the government wanted to keep this evidence suppressed. In early November of 1937, Winston and a friend in law class drove them to this house. There were no windows in the house, in fact, they were only allowed up-stairs. Upon arriving, they were surprised to find that the FBI had just knocked on the Door the opposite door, the exact same door from the above room. The door was already open when they stopped, and even though the FBI was looking in the front door, they didn’t know this was supposed to be the place, which was a building on a road. A search of the front door, however, revealed, no one had ever seen this building or had heard of it. The FBI had to break that down. They found the correct answer, which was that it was the exact same one in all of China, – the only time this had ever happened, and possibly even from an American spy, was for a couple of years before the FBI turned the lid back, though on closer inspection. This house had four bunkhouses, one in the basement, one in the open, one in the attic, the other in the basement downstairs, the other in the attic upstairs, and two or three others on the ground floor. At the bottom of the stairway between the bunkhouse and the attic, to the east, was where all other stairways lead to, ⁘. In other words, there wouldn’t have been any obvious connection between all these rooms except for the fact that this building is a hotel in the mountains (not the real one in the building). This was the only way to put this situation into perspective. At the moment, there was no way to even conclude that this was a secret location from the British, but this was just another example of a real, noninterference attempt, one that was made in an international system of bribery, blackmail, and intimidation. The FBI had to face the facts, then move on, as it wanted to keep their secret. We have no idea what the FBI would do, or how these are different from many other government documents, or of how FBI agents are paid by the government, or who controls them. And just before you take the risk reading any of the above, you want to remember that the world is not quite ready for this kind of deception. The government still uses the same methods it used against the FBI ” to intimidate dissidents, and to blackmail them through threats; though in the end, all that’s left is to go inside and get it and go back with whatever has got the money, and let the money buy a new life. One of the CIA’s techniques used to attack the FBI was to use the CIA’s “intelligence division,” an international branch of the CIA, to make itself look bad. The CIA itself was not an intelligence division, and was simply a collection of individual agents who could be manipulated into acting in concert with the Americans to weaken the American government and weaken the American people with their own information (which they then “sabotaged” through the CIA’s research operations), even when there was no evidence that anyone knew this was happening. One of the methods of this covert attack is to target different people in different ways: by attacking the same people in different ways — the same people and groups. This is the only one of the CIA’s many methods by which it can keep itself above the law, and still maintain its power. And this is what had been done to the FBI by the government, and how it has operated for decades: to use the CIA’s techniques to manipulate and suppress any criticism that might emerge on the CIA’s behalf
The FBI and the Ministry of Truth had already come to the attention of the FBI, as the government wanted to keep this evidence suppressed. In early November of 1937, Winston and a friend in law class drove them to this house. There were no windows in the house, in fact, they were only allowed up-stairs. Upon arriving, they were surprised to find that the FBI had just knocked on the Door the opposite door, the exact same door from the above room. The door was already open when they stopped, and even though the FBI was looking in the front door, they didn’t know this was supposed to be the place, which was a building on a road. A search of the front door, however, revealed, no one had ever seen this building or had heard of it. The FBI had to break that down. They found the correct answer, which was that it was the exact same one in all of China, – the only time this had ever happened, and possibly even from an American spy, was for a couple of years before the FBI turned the lid back, though on closer inspection. This house had four bunkhouses, one in the basement, one in the open, one in the attic, the other in the basement downstairs, the other in the attic upstairs, and two or three others on the ground floor. At the bottom of the stairway between the bunkhouse and the attic, to the east, was where all other stairways lead to, ⁘. In other words, there wouldn’t have been any obvious connection between all these rooms except for the fact that this building is a hotel in the mountains (not the real one in the building). This was the only way to put this situation into perspective. At the moment, there was no way to even conclude that this was a secret location from the British, but this was just another example of a real, noninterference attempt, one that was made in an international system of bribery, blackmail, and intimidation. The FBI had to face the facts, then move on, as it wanted to keep their secret. We have no idea what the FBI would do, or how these are different from many other government documents, or of how FBI agents are paid by the government, or who controls them. And just before you take the risk reading any of the above, you want to remember that the world is not quite ready for this kind of deception. The government still uses the same methods it used against the FBI ” to intimidate dissidents, and to blackmail them through threats; though in the end, all that’s left is to go inside and get it and go back with whatever has got the money, and let the money buy a new life. One of the CIA’s techniques used to attack the FBI was to use the CIA’s “intelligence division,” an international branch of the CIA, to make itself look bad. The CIA itself was not an intelligence division, and was simply a collection of individual agents who could be manipulated into acting in concert with the Americans to weaken the American government and weaken the American people with their own information (which they then “sabotaged” through the CIA’s research operations), even when there was no evidence that anyone knew this was happening. One of the methods of this covert attack is to target different people in different ways: by attacking the same people in different ways — the same people and groups. This is the only one of the CIA’s many methods by which it can keep itself above the law, and still maintain its power. And this is what had been done to the FBI by the government, and how it has operated for decades: to use the CIA’s techniques to manipulate and suppress any criticism that might emerge on the CIA’s behalf
A few days later, Winston walked through the working-class “prole” neighborhood to the antique shop where he had bought his diary. Though class barriers stood tensely in place throughout Oceania, Mr. Charrington, the shop owner, welcomed him and invited him upstairs to see other items. There wasnt much there, but Winston liked the old-fashioned room; it didnt even have a telescreen.
When Winston again slipped out onto the street, he passed the dark-haired girl from the Fiction Department. Now he was sure she was an informant.Back at work, as Winston walked toward the lavatory, the girl reappeared in the hall. Then, just a few feet in front of him, she stumbled and fell. When he offered his hand to help her up, she slipped him a scrap of paper. Shaken, Winston decided to open the paper later at the cubicle where he rewrote old newspaper articles, deleting any reference to persons who had deviated from orthodoxy.
Back at his desk, Winston opened the message and read: “I love you.” Now he was intrigued – and terrified. Like writing in a diary, an affair between party members was “legal”, but punishable by death.
Winston and the girl were finally able to arrange a rendezvous in the country. But even there, there was always the possibility of concealed microphones. So, after meeting at the selected spot, the pair walked on in silence until they found a remote, heavily forested area. Winston didnt even yet know the girls name: “Im thirty-nine years old,” he began. “Ive got a wife that I cant get rid of. Ive got varicose veins. . . ” The girl replied, “I couldnt care less.” She shared some blackmarket chocolate with him, and then they made love. Afterwards, while the girl slept, Winston thought about what they had done. “You could not have pure love or pure lust nowadays. No emotion was pure, because everything was mixed up with fear and hatred. Their embrace had been a battle, the climax a victory. It was a blow struck against the Party. It was a political act.”
Winston now saw the girl – Julia – whenever he could. She explained her survival philosophy: “I always carry one end of a banner in the processions. I always look cheerful and I never shirk anything. Always yell with the crowd, thats what I say. Its the only way to be safe.” For their clandestine meetings, Winston hit upon the idea of renting Mr. Charringtons room above the antique shop. Although the room offered them privacy, “both of them knew it was lunacy;” in the end, they would be caught. Occasionally the lovers “talked of engaging in active rebellion against the Party, but with no notion of how to take the first step.” They considered joining a mysterious subversive group called the “Brotherhood,” but didnt know if this legendary underground cabal even existed.
Besides Julia, there was one person Winston felt he could trust. For months a “strange intimacy” had been ripening between himself and an Inner Party member named OBrien, who worked at the Ministry of Truth. No words had passed between them; only glances that seemed to reflect the same brooding rebel spirit in both men. Then one day OBrien spoke up and asked Winston his opinion of the revised “Newspeak” dictionary. Winston responded that he hadnt seen it yet. OBrien invited him to pick up a copy at his house later that week.
When Winston and Julia arrived at OBriens spacious home, their host surprised them by instructing his servant to turn off the telescreen – one of many privileges extended to Inner Party members. Now that they could not be overheard, Winston admitted why they had really come: “We believe that there is some kind of conspiracy working against the Party, and that you are involved in it. We want to join …. We are enemies of the Party.” OBrien nodded his head and lifted his glass. “To Emmanuel Goldstein,” he intoned, referring to the reputed leader of the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood existed, then! But before they could join, OBrien had to know the extent of their commitment. When both Winston and Julia conceded that they would do anything to weaken the Partys power, he gave them a copy of Goldsteins book, the “Bible” of the Brotherhood.
The next week was “Hate Week” at the Ministry of Truth – seven hectic days devoted to stirring up hatred against the nation of Eurasia, Oceanias current enemy at arms. Unfortunately, on the sixth day of Hate