Describe the oppressive and depressing setting of 1984.

The bleakness of the setting only helps to confirm what
Orwell sees regarding political institutions in the future.  Oceania is in a constant
state of war with the other superpowers.  Such a perpetual state prevents any real sense
of questioning on the part of the people and consolidates the central authority of the
government over them.  It is for this reason that so much of the book is set in an
atmosphere of gloom and depression.  The constant state of war that is engineered by the
government and endured with forced celebration by the people makes life in Oceania
depressing.  Winston, himself, experiences this in a hollowed out and dingy part of town
that he calls his home. In general, life during war is bleak.  It is for precisely this
reason that the setting is so bleak because few, if any, will question the state of
affairs during war.  It is in the best interests of Big Brother and the party to
submerge its citizens int war and all aspects of it.  In this, their lives will be lived
in muted and silent depression, preventing any chance of
rebellion.