This page is about the room in Nineteen Eighty-Four; for information about the TV series of the same name, see Room 101 (TV series). For more information about the radio series of the same name, see Room 101 (Radio series)

Room 101 is a place introduced in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.

Room 101 in Nineteen Eighty-Four

"You asked me once," said O'Brien, "what was in Room 101. I told you that you know the answer already. Everybody knows. The thing in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world."

Room 101 is a torture chamber in which a prisoner is subjected to their own worst nightmare. Such is the omniscience of the state in the totalitarian society of Nineteen Eighty-Four that even a citizen's nightmares are known to the authorities. The nightmare — and therefore the threatened punishment — of the protagonist Winston Smith is to have his face gnawed by rats. Smith saves himself by begging the authorities to let his lover, Julia, have her face gnawed out by the ferocious rodents instead. The torture—and what Winston does to escape it—utterly crushes the feelings between himself and Julia, destroying their youthful idealism, their dreams for the future, and their feelings for each other. It should be noted that the book never suggests Julia is actually subjected to the rat torture (although it is strongly implied she was threatened with her own worst nightmare), and the original intent of threatening Winston with the rats probably wasn't to actually go through with the act, but to force him into betraying the only person he loved and therefore break his spirit.

Background

Room 101 could have been named after a conference room at BBC Broadcasting House where Orwell used to sit through tedious meetings. Broadcasting House certainly had a Room 101—its door was at the far end of a long corridor on the east side of the building—and it's possible that Orwell's wartime work at the BBC was part of the inspiration for Nineteen Eighty Four's 'Ministry of Truth'. Room 101 was demolished as part of the refurbishment of Broadcasting House, however before this a cast was taken of the room.

Alternatively, it's been said that Orwell's Room 101 was inspired by Office 101 in the Senate House library of London. Senate House is known as a menacing, and powerful looking building, and may have served as the inspiration for the Ministry of Love itself (See University of London).

Other appearances of the term

Room 101, like Floor 13, is often used in popular culture to give a sinister meaning to what would otherwise be an unremarkable room. For example, at the beginning of the 1999 movie The Matrix, Neo lives in Room 101.

Room 101 is the name of a 2001 movie directed by Mark Sheppard and starring Vincent Castellanos.

Room 101 is the name of a Chicago Alternative/Rock band.

In the 2005 series of Big Brother (UK) a housemate was required to enter a Room 101 to complete tedious and unpleasant tasks, including sorting different colours of maggots.

Room 101 (TV series) is also a BBC comedy radio and television series, running since 1992, in which celebrities are invited to discuss their pet hates with the host in order to have them consigned to Room 101.

Room 101 was the number of the room Hans Moleman was brainwashed in the Burns' Heir Episode of The Simpsons.

Upon registering for a forum account at Rotten.com, users are warned to "Stay out of Room 101 -- unless you're into that sort of thing."

Room 101 is the room in which Russell Crowe as John Nash first works on secret codes in the 2001 movie "A Beautiful Mind"

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