Ministries of Nineteen Eighty-Four omniscience of the state in the society of "Nineteen Eighty-Four" that even a citizen's nightmares are known to the Party. The nightmare, and therefore the threatened punishment, of the protagonist Winston Smith is to be attacked by rats. This is manifested in Room 101 by confronting Smith with a wire cage that contains two large rats. The front of the cage is shaped so that it can fit over a person's face. A trap-door is then opened, allowing the rats to devour the victim's face. This cage is fitted over Smith's face, but he saves himself by begging the authorities
George Orwell in the school literature curriculum in England, with "Animal Farm" a regular examination topic at the end of secondary education (GCSE), and "Nineteen Eighty-Four" a topic for subsequent examinations below university level (A Levels). Alan Brown noted that this brings to the forefront questions about the political content of teaching practices. Study aids, in particular with potted biographies, might be seen to help propagate the Orwell myth so that as an embodiment of human values he is presented as a "trustworthy guide", while examination questions sometimes suggest the "right ways of answering" in line with the myth. Historian John Rodden