What is the atmosphere of the novel 1984 and how is it created?

George Orwell’s 1984 has been called a depressing dystopian story. A dystopia is a future world where things have gone wrong (the opposite of “utopia,” a perfect future world).

To achieve this effect, Orwell has to create a negative atmosphere in which his characters struggle to understand and escape forces that are beyond their control. Writers typically create their mood and atmosphere through diction (word choice) and imagery. Some words and images have more power to convey ideas to readers. A skilled writer like Orwell can create a dreary, depressing future world by carefully choosing what words and images to use.

The reader doesn’t have to go far to find a good example of this in 1984. Here is the very paragraph in the book:

It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen. Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him.

This opening paragraph immediately tells the reader that the main character, Winston Smith, is in a hostile environment. The atmosphere here is threatening and disheartening. A clock that strikes thirteen signals to the reader that things just aren’t right in this place. And notice the little environmental detail near the end, the “gritty dust” that follows him through the door. Orwell does not write this accidentally. The presence of the dust suggests uncleanness. The fact that the dust follows him, apparently against his wishes, portrays Smith as a person in danger and under surveillance, which is the case throughout the story.

The atmosphere created by Orwell leaves the reader with no illusions about the direction the story is going after the first paragraph. This is not a happy, clean world, and events are not going to be favorable for the main character.