1984, Journal 1

"The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats. At one end of it a colored poster, too large for indoor display, had been tacked to the wall. It depicted simply an enormous face, more than a meter wide: the face of an man of about forty-five, with a heavy black mustache and ruggedly handsome features. Winston made for the stairs. It was no use trying the lift. Even at the best of times it was seldom working, and at present the electric current was cut off during daylight hours. It was part of the economy drive in preparation for Hate Week. The flat was seven flights up, and Winston, who was thirty-nine, and had a varicose ulcer above his right ankle, went slowly, resting several times on the way. On each landing, opposite the lift shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran" (1)

The imagery that Orwell uses right off the bat in the first sentence creates an eerie, almost foul mood for the text. The words "boiled cabbage" and "old rag mats" gives the reader the idea that everything is old, forgotten and not taken care of. Orwell then goes on to describe the face of Big Brother and illustrates the importance of the propaganda poster. By saying it was a "colored poster, too large for indoor display" in a run-down building almost falling apart shows that the only thing people care enough about is to take care of the poster. This stresses the idea that people care more about Big Brother than their own lives. Also, Orwell's description of Big Brother's face creates the image of power. In history, "black mustache[s]" are associated with powerful leaders and politicians. The idea with the broken "lift", which is slang for an elevator in British dialect, connects with the idea that everything is old and falling apart, and instead of fixing it, people devote their lives to Big Brother. Orwell then introduces the concept of Hate Week. Orwell's strong word choice for "Hate" could be a possible hyperbole or it could be used to show the control the totalitarian government had over the people. Basically by calling it "Hate Week", Orwell is implying that the government is telling the people that they must feel hatred. Orwell then carries onto describing Winston, who is the protagonist in the novel, and his varicose ulcer. Ulcers can often be caused by stress, which helps characterize Winston as a man who worries and questions the set doctrines place by Big Brother or the totalitarian government. Orwell finishes the passage off by stating Big Brother's slogan of "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU". The Big Brother slogan has a very threatening tone.