Could the world in 1984 ever really exist? This question haunts readers from the first to the last pages of George Orwell's novel. Sadly, the answer is "yes"; or at least Orwell hopes that readers will leave 1984 accepting the possibility enough to question government and stride cautiously into the future. Orwell intends to portray Oceania just realistically enough to convince contemporary readers that such a society has existed and could exist again if people forget the lessons taught by history, or fail to guard against tyrannical, totalitarian governments. Three major themes of the novel are danger or totalitarianism, language as a mind control, and control of history which tied together the plot and messages in 1984. Orwell sets his story in war-torn London. Thirty to forty bombs rain down on the city per week and everywhere Winston turns reminders of the war, such as the Two Minutes Hate and billboards plastered with Party slogans, color his existence. Deprivation, another product of war, hangs in the air as heavily as the horrible grime and stench created by the city's overcrowded residences. Upon opening 1984, Orwell's first readers, English people during the late 1940s, would have immediately recognized themselves. Having just emerged from WWII, Londoners would have intimately related to the deprivation and destruction portrayed in 1984. .
The main theme of the novel was the danger of totalitarianism basically warned the readers in the West of totalitarian government like The Party. Neither the Outer Party nor the proles have any influence on the direction of their country or the rules that govern their lives. The Inner Party manipulates the media and infiltrates citizens" private lives to gain complete control over every aspect of human existence, including love and sex. When the propaganda, deprivation, and rigid guidelines fail to convert someone to Party, the government uses torture to brainwash citizens.
