Nineteen Eighty-Four

This study aims to review George Orwell’s 1984, a dystopian novel about a fictional future, by considering his reflections on locations and their functions. The story focuses on the man, Winston Smith, the protagonist of 1984, living in Airstrip One, the imaginary name of Great Britain, which was re-established after the Third World War and ruled by stringent authoritarian governance. 1984 has three different life patterns described under three names: “members of the inner party” who keeps authoritarian governance alive, “members of the outer party” who are functionaries of this governance, and the people who are excluded from everything are called “prolers”.

The lifestyle described in the novel and the writer’s paradigm about such a world are realized through the depictions of the novel’s main buildings. These are comprised of four gigantic ministries arranged with opposite functions and the “Victory Mansions” that meet the people’s residential needs. The ministries have different functions: The “Ministry of Truth” heads entertainment, education, and fine arts. The “Ministry of Peace” controls wars. The “Ministry of Love” maintains law and order, and the “Ministry of Plenty” manages economic affairs. The fact that even the ministries’ names have an opposite meaning to their functions is reflected as a metaphor of how the authoritarian governance crying out for victory keeps people captive.

In Orwell’s 1984 novel, it is very well explained how the building user’s situation reflects on the space and how it affects life. Furthermore, the oppression and the state of being under surveillance, which authoritarian governance is trying to create, have been successfully described through the book’s architectural spaces.

Keywords: 1984, Architectural space, Authoritarian order, Big Brother, Dystopia, England, George Orwell, Governance, Ignorance, Law, Lie, Love, Metaphorical, Ministry, Oceania, Peace, Plenty, Plotters, Starvation, Truth, War.