1984

In 1984 by George Orwell, the main character Winston lives in a dystopian future controlled by a government ruled by Big Brother, with the population being controlled through a series of extreme processes and practices that destroy any sense of meaning. The government seeks to erase the past and secure their future as the only potential political party by banning free thought, and forcing weekly communal demonstrations of hate for the country's “enemies” (called the “Two Minute Hate”).

Winston's situation is so oppressive that when conditions worsen, previous circumstances are forgotten almost immediately and new conditions often are paradoxically viewed as improvements.

In the following passage from 1984, Winston hears that the community is supposed to “thank Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grammes a week. And only [the day before], ….the chocolate ration was...reduced to twenty grammes a week”, the same amount Big Brother is praised for raising it to (Orwell, 61)!