1984

This novel is set in Oceania, one of three totalitarian states at war, in 1984. In unthinking obedience to its leader, Big Brother, the All-Controlling Government has brainwashed the people. The desperation of Winston Smith for honesty and fairness causes him to revolt secretly against the party. Winston’s subsequent detention, torture, and reeducation were meant to weed out his freedom and kill his integrity and humanity. Winston Smith, the novel’s hero, is a minor party functionary living in a London that is still devastated by a nuclear war that took place not long after World War II.