This past week, I have read the first section of 1984. It introduces the main character, Winston Smith, and the future nation of Oceania. Oceania has a government ruled by Big Brother. No one really knows who Big Brother is, or if he's a real person, but they do know that the government can watch everyone and anyone.
Winston works for the Ministry, and his job is to essentially "change the past". How? He has to look over past events in documents and rewrite anything the government did wrong, so that all people see are good things about the government. Winston hates his job, and does not like having millions of people believe in things that never actually happened.
The Ministry is supposed to support Big Brother in all that they do. Every day, they have time to praise Big Brother and to express their anger to Emmanuel Goldstein of Eurasia, the "common enemy" to the people of Oceania. This is to strengthen the idea that "War is Peace", that the people can unify to fight the common enemy. Winston goes along with externally, but his mind contradicts. At home, Winston keeps a journal to write his thoughts. It's his way of expressing his ideas and rebelling against the government.
