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== Background of Novel ==
== Background of Novel ==
The environmental background to the action of the story is a satirical portrayal of late-1940s London, a city where war damage was still very evident, and rationing and shortages a way of life. The Ministry of Truth, as described by Orwell in the novel, is based upon the Senate House building of London University, at the time one of the tallest buildings in the capital, and home during the Second World War to the Ministry of Information.
The environmental background to the action of the story is a satirical portrayal of late-1940s London, a city where war damage was still very evident, and rationing and shortages a way of life. The Ministry of Truth, as described by Orwell in the novel, is based upon the Senate House building of London University, at the time one of the tallest buildings in the capital, and home during the Second World War to the Ministry of Information.
== Governmental Structure ==
The structure of government in Oceania is sharply pyramidal; the mythical, probably non-existent Big Brother rests forever at the top of the pyramid, followed by the tiny Inner Party made up of only 1 million people. Then follows the larger Outer Party, finally the "proles," or the Proletariat, who make up, according to the novel, 95 percent of the population. Since Big Brother is probably only a personification of government, it is really the Inner Party which rules Oceania, making it an oligarchy. Goldstein's book refers to the system as "Oligarchical Collectivism."
The government is horribly ineficient in all things except constant and oppresive surveilance over Party members. The proles are considered mindless and unimportant, and so are allowed to go free, kept occupied by trashy entertainment known as ''prolefeed.''
There are four "ministries" or sections of government: The Ministry of Truth, which primarily rewrites history, the Ministry of Plenty, which squanders resources, the Ministry of Peace, which fuels the perpetual war with Eastasia or Eurasia by using these resources for war purposes, and finally the Ministry of Love, where Party enemies, usually those guilty of ''thoughtcrime,'' are tortured and brainwashed into loving the Party before eventually being killed. The novel describes the Ministry of Love as the most terrifying, as it has no windows and is surrounded by barbed wire and gorilla-like guards with truncheons.
==Online version==
==Online version==