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| {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2012}} | |||
| {{About|the room mentioned in the book Nineteen Eighty-Four|the TV series of the same name|Room 101 (TV series)|the radio series|Room 101 (radio series)}} | |||
| '''Room 101''' is a room introduced in the climax of the novel '']'' by ]. It is a ] in the ], in which the Party attempts to subject a prisoner to his or her own worst ], fear or ], with the object of breaking down their resistance. | |||
| {{cquote2|You asked me once, what was in Room 101. I told you that you knew the answer already. Everyone knows it. The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world.|]}} | |||
| ==Depiction in the novel== | |||
| Such is the purported ] of the ] 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 ] is to be attacked by ]s. 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 to let his lover, ], suffer this torture instead of him. The threatened torture, and what Winston does to escape it, breaks his last promise to himself and to Julia: never to betray her emotionally. The book suggests that Julia is likewise subjected to her own worst fear (although it is not revealed what her worst fear is), and when she and Winston later meet in a park, he notices a scar on her forehead. The original intent of threatening Winston with the rats was not necessarily to go through with the act, but to force him into betraying the only person he loved and therefore break his spirit. | |||
| Orwell named Room 101 after a conference room at ] where he used to sit through tedious meetings.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Real Room 101 |publisher=BBC |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/room-101.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070105132434/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/room-101.shtml |archivedate=5 January 2007}}<br>Meyers, Jeffery. ''Orwell: Wintry Conscience of a Generation''. W.W.Norton. 2000. ISBN 0-393-32263-7, p. 214.</ref> When the original room 101 at the BBC was due to be demolished, a plaster cast of it was made by artist ] and displayed in the ] of the ] from November 2003 until June 2004.<ref>{{cite web| title= BBC Broadcasting House – Public Art Programme 2002–2008| url=http://www.publicartonline.org.uk/resources/reports/artistcommissions/bbc_broadcasting_house.php| accessdate= 2009-05-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| first=Richard| last =Brooks| title= Orwell’s room 101 to be work of art|url= http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1122272.ece|work=The Sunday Times| location= London| date= 23 March 2003| accessdate= 2009-05-18}}</ref> | |||
| ==Cultural impact== | |||
| The novel's popularity has resulted in the term "Room 101" being used to represent a place where unpleasant things are done. According to ]'s book '']'', ], the last Minister of State Security (]) of ], had the floors of the Stasi headquarters renumbered so that his second floor office would be number 101.<ref>{{cite news | accessdate=2008-02-02| date=18 June 2004| url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/anna-funder-inside-the-real-room-101-732525.html| title=Anna Funder: Inside the real Room 101|work=The Independent| location=London| first1=Sholto| last1=Byrnes| first2=Boyd| last2=Tonkin}} (Profile of ] and her book, '']'')</ref> | |||
| In the BBC comedy television series '']'', the concept is radically changed from that of Orwell, and celebrities are invited to discuss their pet hates and persuade the host to consign them to oblivion, as metaphorically represented by the idea of Room 101. | |||
| In the ] of ], a housemate was required to enter a Room 101 to complete tedious and unpleasant tasks, including sorting different colours of ]. | |||
| In '']'', ] and ] play a game called "Room 102," based on the concept of "Room 101," in which ] has to decide what things he dislikes enough to put in Room 102. This would result, according to their game, in these things being erased from existence. | |||
| ===In Fiction=== | |||
| The concept of a "Room 101" has also entered into many fictional works. | |||
| In '']'', the physical location of Room 101 (and the Ministry of Love) is given as the ] headquarters at ]. | |||
| In the 2011 '']'' episode "]", ] and his companions find themselves in a hotel full of their own personal Room 101s, each with their greatest fear in it.<ref>{{cite web|first=Matt|last=Risely|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/09/18/doctor-who-the-god-complex-review|title=Doctor Who: "The God Complex" Review|publisher=]|date=18 September 2011|accessdate=31 March 2012}}</ref> | |||
| One sketch on '']'' involved the hapless residents of room 102, the ] repair centre, who could not ignore the things happening in the next room. They were greatly inconvenienced by some of the more irrational fears, like killer whales, and suspicious of the number of people who claimed their worst fear was sex. | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| {{1984}} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:101}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 16:00, 16 June 2015
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