Open Prompt Revision 1

 The prisoner's greatest hope is freedom.  Winston, the main character in George Orwell’s 1984, is a prisoner in the dystopian society of Oceania.  There, the state controls the thoughts of the people with psychological manipulation. Winston wants to break this control by defying the government.  Like the single prisoner who tries to break out, Oceania's government eventually captures and returns him to his cell.  Winston responds to the rules of his society, challenging the authorities for a while by trying to rediscover the past, but his will is broken and he again willingly conforms to the standards of Oceania.

                  In the society of Oceania, extremism rules.  Oceania’s leaders have changed history to make their Party legitimate, and put the youth through programs which encourage frenzied support of the government.  The people are kept chaste to an extreme.  They channel their sexual energy toward rallies  that encourage support of the government.  The Party encourages citizens to spy on each other.  Every room has a camera watching the people there.  The words “Big brother is watching” are everywhere, reminding people that they are being spied on.  The people accept the concept of Doublethink, or contradiction.  An example of this of the official slogan of the party: “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength”.  Newspeak is a simplified language designed by the Party to make thought narrower. This speech makes it more difficult to express rebellious thoughts.  In Oceania, extremism and contradiction rule.

                  Winston defies the standards of his society by obsessing over the past, but his rebellion fails when the Party catches him and breaks his will.  Winston uses an old book to write an anti-Party entry in which he writes “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” repeatedly.  When he is living with Julia in an old room above an antique shop, Winston is able remember his childhood.  He becomes obsessed with old things, most noticeably the room he hides out in and a glass paperweight, which let him escape from his society.  When the thought police catch Winston, the paperweight breaks, representing the beginning of the failure of his rebellion.  After his capture, he quickly gives in to torture and Party officials make him into an average citizen again.  Winston’s easy break under torture shows the inevitable triumph of the establishment over the defiance of an individual.