Winston Smith pulls his chin into his chest to shield himself from the biting wind as he slips through the glass doors of Victory Mansions. A swirl of gritty dust follows him inside, and the hallway smells of boiled cabbage and old rag mats. On one wall a gigantic poster dominates the space, showing a man about forty‑five with a heavy black moustache and ruggedly handsome features – the face of Big Brother. Winston heads for the stairs because the lift rarely works and, during daylight, the electric current is deliberately cut off as part of the economy drive for Hate Week. The flat he lives in is seven flights up. He is thirty‑nine and suffers from a varicose ulcer above his right ankle, so he climbs slowly, pausing on each landing. On every landing, opposite the lift shaft, the Big Brother poster follows his gaze with eyes that seem to track him. The chapter ends with the words “BIG BROTHER IS…”.