1. 1984

"It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen" (1).

Through the centuries the number thirteen has been associated with bad luck. It is especially tied to religious beliefs, such as being a number more than the twelve commandments of God. If people start creating more, then there are now thirteen, which is seen as a rebellion against God. George Orwell may have started his novel, 1984, with the idea of thirteen to symbolize the possible uprising and sense of doom. Right from the first sentence with the descriptive word of "cold" it feels to the reader that there is a gloomy tale about to be told. With the idea of "clocks" and the number "thirteen," George Orwell appears to be going past the normal twelve numbers into the land of thirteen where rules are broken and rewritten to fit the desires of mankind.