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
Nineteen Eighty-Four novel to the Broadway stage. Orwell sold the American stage rights to Sheldon, explaining that his basic goal with "Nineteen Eighty-Four" was imagining the consequences of Stalinist government ruling British society: ["Nineteen Eighty-Four"] was based chiefly on communism, because that is the dominant form of totalitarianism, but I was trying chiefly to imagine what communism would be like if it were firmly rooted in the English speaking countries, and was no longer a mere extension of the Russian Foreign Office. The statement "2 + 2 = 5", used to torment Winston Smith during his interrogation, was a communist party slogan