History NightmareFuel / NineteenEightyFour

* The indoctrination of Oceania's children from birth creates little monsters fanatically loyal to Big Brother. Parsons's two children scream about wanting to see a public hanging, set a market woman's skirt on fire because they saw her wrapping up sausages in a poster of Big Brother (something they were taught to do as members of the Spies), and turn their own father into the Party by lying that he was saying "Down with Big Brother" in his sleep.

** The four Ministry towers are intimidating enough, but Miniluv takes it UpToEleven by having no windows whatsoever and much, ''much'' tighter security than the other three; for example, its perimeter is caked with barbed wire fences and guards can be seen in areas a good distance away.

* The mere idea that there is no escape from this hellish dystopia. We see Oceania in all its hellishly oppressive detail, but living in Eurasia or Eastasia is pretty much exactly the same. The only place left is the Equatorial Front, which is nothing more than a giant fighting arena where you'll either be gunned down by supersoldiers or taken as a slave by whatever nation grabbed you. And if Julia's theory that Oceania is a OneWorldOrder is true, then there's ''nowhere to run.''

** It is strongly implied that Parsons said nothing of the sort and they lied about the whole thing ForTheEvulz. Parsons is so indoctrinated into the ideology that he goes along with it even if it means his own death. What an insane world.

* The most scary thing about the setting of this book? Not only does it remain one of the most nightmarish dystopias ever devised, but [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters there is no supernatural element at all]] and it is all ''[[AdultFear entirely plausible]]''. [[UsefulNotes/NorthKorea Want proof?]]

** Also nasty is that ''1984'''s setting is enforcing their surveillance without the help of computers, or at least not computers as we know them[[note]]The book mentions how entertainment for the proles is made by a sort of kaleidoscope known as "versificator"[[/note]]. When you think on real-world programs as China's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System Social Credit System]] you can see Orwell got short of what could happen in RealLife.

* Something as simple as talking in your sleep can earn you a visit from the Thought Police. [[ParanoiaFuel Your life will end over something you had as much control over as a breath or a heartbeat.]] They don't even need proof to drag you away to Room 101. One man gets arrested because his children (falsely?) report that he was saying "Down with Big Brother" in his sleep.

** Also nasty is that ''1984'''s setting is enforcing their surveillance without the help of computers. When you think on real-world programs as China's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System Social Credit System]] you can see Orwell got short of what could happen in RealLife.

* Another example of how life has warped Winston is his bitter misogyny, including toward Julia. Before they start hooking up, he despairs that she'll never fall for him, so his bitterness over that curdles into fantasies about torturing, raping, and killing her! Nowadays, this bit is even more horrifying, as Winston's thoughts here are not so far from those of incels who have gone on to commit mass shootings.

-> If you want a picture of the future, imagine reading the NightmareFuel pages -- [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife for ever]].

* Another example of how life has warped Winston is his bitter misogyny, including toward Julia. Before they start hooking up, he despairs that she'll never fall for him, so his bitterness over that curdles into fantasies about torturing, raping, and killing her!

* The telescreens. They are ''everywhere'', from the workplace to your own apartment, constantly watching people. Fortunately, their cameras are relatively limited and don't have any features such as night vision, so you might get away with doing things like making anti-party gestures in the dark, but their microphones are ''very'' sensitive to the point that they can apparently pick up a heartbeat.

* '''Room 101.''' Imagine a PlaceWorseThanDeath where you are tortured with [[NightmareFuel whatever you fear the most]], right up to the point where you will betray literally ''anything'' just to get it away from you, and subsequently go irreversibly past the DespairEventHorizon.

* Arguably the Oceanians, thanks to all the years of indoctrination, starvation and overworking, coupled with the removal of any conflicting or disloyal elements, border on OurHumansAreDifferent. They're almost completely devoid of empathy for others, totally numb to violence or absolutely reveling in it. They're encouraged to hate their designated enemies, with each generation growing more desensitized to suffering and more thoroughly indoctrinated by the Party. They've also developed mindsets bordering on BizarreAlienPsychologly, capable of actions like {{Doublethink}} nearly without question. They go beyond HumansAreBastards and closer to humanity if we were AlwaysChaoticEvil.

* The indoctrination of Oceania's children from birth creates little monsters fanatically loyal to Big Brother. Parson's two children scream about wanting to see a public hanging, set a market woman's skirt on fire because they saw her wrapping up sausages in a poster of Big Brother (something they were taught to do as members of the Spies), and turn their own father into the Party by lying that he was saying "Down with Big Brother" in his sleep.

** It is strongly implied that Parson said nothing of the sort and they lied about the whole thing ForTheEvulz. Parson is so indoctrinated into the ideology that he goes along with it even if it means his own death. What an insane world.

--->"Power is in inflicting pain and humiliation. Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing. Do you begin to see, then, [[{{Dystopia}} what kind of world we are creating?]] It is the exact opposite of the stupid hedonistic {{Utopia}}s that the old reformers imagined. A world of fear and treachery and torment, a world of trampling and being trampled upon, a world which will grow not less but ''[[FromBadToWorse more]]'' merciless as it refines itself. Progress in our world will be [[ColdBloodedTorture progress towards more pain.]] The old civilizations claimed that they were founded on love or justice. Ours is founded upon hatred. In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. Everything else we shall destroy — [[OmnicidalManiac everything]]. Already we are breaking down the habits of thought which have survived from before the Revolution. We have cut the links between child and parent, and between man and man, and between man and woman. No one dares trust a wife or a child or a friend any longer. But in the future there will be no wives and no friends. Children will be taken from their mothers at birth, as one takes eggs from a hen. The sex instinct will be eradicated. Procreation will be an annual formality like the renewal of a ration card. We shall abolish the orgasm. Our neurologists are at work upon it now. There will be no loyalty, except loyalty towards the Party. There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother. There will be no laughter, except [[PutTheLaughterInSlaughter the laugh of triumph over a defeated enemy]]. There will be no art, no literature, no science. When we are omnipotent we shall have no more need of science. There will be no distinction between beauty and ugliness. There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always — do not forget this, Winston — always there will be the [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity intoxication of power]], constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, [[{{Sadist}} the sensation]] of [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown trampling on an enemy who is helpless]]. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — for ever."

* As part of his job, Winston invents a story of the life of a war hero named Comrade Ogilvy, whose entire short life from birth to death revolved around serving and worshipping Big Brother. At 3 years old, the only toys he would play with were a drum, toy gun and helicopter. At 6, he joined the Spies a year early. At 11, he turned his uncle in to the Thought Police. For the rest of his life he was a soldier until he died in action at 23. He had no hobbies, no recreations, no family to speak of, no desire except to serve Big Brother. This is considered ideal. Imagine this being your life...

--->"Power is in inflicting pain and humiliation. Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing. Do you begin to see, then, [[{{Dystopia}} what kind of world we are creating?]] It is the exact opposite of the stupid hedonistic {{Utopia}}s that the old reformers imagined. A world of fear and treachery and torment, a world of trampling and being trampled upon, a world which will grow not less but ''[[FromBadToWorse more]]'' merciless as it refines itself. Progress in our world will be progress towards more pain. The old civilizations claimed that they were founded on love or justice. Ours is founded upon hatred. In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. Everything else we shall destroy — [[OmnicidalManiac everything]]. Already we are breaking down the habits of thought which have survived from before the Revolution. We have cut the links between child and parent, and between man and man, and between man and woman. No one dares trust a wife or a child or a friend any longer. But in the future there will be no wives and no friends. Children will be taken from their mothers at birth, as one takes eggs from a hen. The sex instinct will be eradicated. Procreation will be an annual formality like the renewal of a ration card. We shall abolish the orgasm. Our neurologists are at work upon it now. There will be no loyalty, except loyalty towards the Party. There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother. There will be no laughter, except [[PutTheLaughterInSlaughter the laugh of triumph over a defeated enemy]]. There will be no art, no literature, no science. When we are omnipotent we shall have no more need of science. There will be no distinction between beauty and ugliness. There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always — do not forget this, Winston — always there will be the [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity intoxication of power]], constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, [[{{Sadist}} the sensation]] of [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown trampling on an enemy who is helpless]]. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — for ever."

--->"Power is in inflicting pain and humiliation. Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing. Do you begin to see, then, [[{{Dystopia}} what kind of world we are creating?]] It is the exact opposite of the stupid hedonistic {{Utopia}}s that the old reformers imagined. A world of fear and treachery and torment, a world of trampling and being trampled upon, a world [[FromBadToWorse which will grow not less but]] ''[[FromBadToWorse more]]'' [[FromBadToWorse merciless as it refines itself. Progress in our world will be progress towards more pain]]. The old civilizations claimed that they were founded on love or justice. Ours is founded upon hatred. In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. Everything else we shall destroy — [[OmnicidalManiac everything]]. Already we are breaking down the habits of thought which have survived from before the Revolution. We have cut the links between child and parent, and between man and man, and between man and woman. No one dares trust a wife or a child or a friend any longer. But in the future there will be no wives and no friends. Children will be taken from their mothers at birth, as one takes eggs from a hen. The sex instinct will be eradicated. Procreation will be an annual formality like the renewal of a ration card. We shall abolish the orgasm. Our neurologists are at work upon it now. There will be no loyalty, except loyalty towards the Party. There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother. There will be no laughter, except [[PutTheLaughterInSlaughter the laugh of triumph over a defeated enemy]]. There will be no art, no literature, no science. When we are omnipotent we shall have no more need of science. There will be no distinction between beauty and ugliness. There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always — do not forget this, Winston — always there will be the [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity intoxication of power]], constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, [[{{Sadist}} the sensation]] of [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown trampling on an enemy who is helpless]]. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — for ever."

** The idea that Eurasia and Eastasia are "exactly the same" or that the rest of the world is even just "Eurasia and Eastasia" is an idea propagated purely by Big Brother and its raging thought police. Meaning that not only is it unlikely that Eurasia and Eastasia are exactly the same, it's likely that Oceania is one of the few places on Earth that's as repressive as it is and the rest of the world is more or less similar to our real world. A real life example would be North Korea: they have a repressive, thought-policing government much like Oceania's, and they don't think it's the year 2019 A.D. and are engineered to believe that the outside world is a hellhole and much worse than North Korea. Obviously as informed people we know that's a pile of crap, which means the propaganda that Oceania's government hoists up that states that "Eastasia and Eurasia are the same as they are" is probably a pile of crap as well.

** The part where O'Brien tortures Winston to the point that he really sees five fingers instead of the four that he once believed were being held up.

** The torture that finally breaks Winston is the threat to release a starved rat to devour his face while he is still alive.

* As part of his job, Winston invents a story of the life of a war hero named Comrade Ogilvy, whose entire short life from birth to death revolved around serving and worshipping Big Brother. At 3 years old, the only toys he would play with were a drum, toy gun and helicopter. At 6, he joined the Spies a year early. At 11, he turned his uncle in to the Thought Police. For the rest of his life he was a soldier until he died in action at 23. From birth to death, he had no hobbies, no recreations, no family to speak of, no desire except to serve Big Brother. This is considered ideal. Imagine this being your life...

* As part of his job, Winston invents a story of the life of a war hero named Comrade Ogilvy, whose entire short life from birth to death revolved around serving and worshipping Big Brother. At 3 years old, he would only play with a drum, toy gun and helicopter, at 6 he joined the Spies, at 11 he turned his uncle in to the Thought Police, for the rest of his life he was a soldier until he died in action at 23. He had no hobbies, no recreations, no family to speak of, no desire except to serve Big Brother. This is considered ideal. Imagine this being your life...

--> "Power is in inflicting pain and humiliation. Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing. Do you begin to see, then, [[{{Dystopia}} what kind of world we are creating?]] It is the exact opposite of the stupid hedonistic {{Utopia}}s that the old reformers imagined. A world of fear and treachery and torment, a world of trampling and being trampled upon, a world [[FromBadToWorse which will grow not less but]] ''[[FromBadToWorse more]]'' [[FromBadToWorse merciless as it refines itself. Progress in our world will be progress towards more pain]]. The old civilizations claimed that they were founded on love or justice. Ours is founded upon hatred. In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. Everything else we shall destroy — [[OmnicidalManiac everything]]. Already we are breaking down the habits of thought which have survived from before the Revolution. We have cut the links between child and parent, and between man and man, and between man and woman. No one dares trust a wife or a child or a friend any longer. But in the future there will be no wives and no friends. Children will be taken from their mothers at birth, as one takes eggs from a hen. The sex instinct will be eradicated. Procreation will be an annual formality like the renewal of a ration card. We shall abolish the orgasm. Our neurologists are at work upon it now. There will be no loyalty, except loyalty towards the Party. There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother. There will be no laughter, except [[PutTheLaughterInSlaughter the laugh of triumph over a defeated enemy]]. There will be no art, no literature, no science. When we are omnipotent we shall have no more need of science. There will be no distinction between beauty and ugliness. There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always — do not forget this, Winston — always there will be the [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity intoxication of power]], constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, [[{{Sadist}} the sensation]] of [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown trampling on an enemy who is helpless]]. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — for ever."