Theme Of Heroism In George Orwell

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The heroic character of each of George Orwell 's stories lies within the extremities of G. Woodstock quote, whereby "all [Orwell 's] heroes are failures; … he once said … the human condition condemns all men in the long run to defeat … This does not matter. The important thing is to have uttered the cry of rebellion that confirms one 's humanity. This is what heroism consists of." G. Woodstock explains that in Orwell 's stories, the role of the hero does not depend on whether the character reaches their goal or not, but rather if their moral thoughts are reflected in their actions defying a greater, corrupt power. G. Woodstock 's remark shines light onto the pessimistic human condition of Orwell 's heroes, adding an apparent pattern and rhythm …show more content…

Winston wrangles doublethink, which is a principle of INGSOC that overrides any moral thought with contradictory thoughts and ideas that are chosen to agree with the government. For instance, Winston mentally battles doublethink, through his urgency to emphasize "the phrase 'our new, happy life ' [recurring] several times" (59) from the telescreen. Obviously, the statement completely contradicts the hopeless situation Winston is in, yet the government constraints the citizens of Oceania to believe in everything that is spit at them through the use of doublethink. Besides doublethink, Winston is perplexed about the mutability of the past, whereby "the past … [is] not merely … altered, it [is] … actually destroyed." (35) Winston describes the existence of the former present life to be in a constant state of change and unrest, in accordance with the facts commanded by Big Brother. To illustrate his cry of rebellion concerning the alteration of the past, Winston quotes, "Everything had been different then. Even the names of countries, and their shapes on the map, had been different. Airstrip One, for instance, had not been so called in those days: it …show more content…

He challenges his current situation by reminiscing on his past, as 1984 quotes, " [Winston tries] to squeeze out some childhood memory that should tell him whether London had always been quite like this." (3) Winston utters his cry of rebellion through the consideration of the progressive and dominant control the totalitarian government truly has over Oceania, the continent in which the story takes place, and due to this oppressive control, Winston is unable to communicate with anyone regarding the topic. Winston grasps onto the inequitable and obscure reality he is merely surviving in, and feels determined to independently resist the government by warning future generations in consequence of forbidden diary entries. The novel quotes, "The thing that [Winston is] about to do [is] to open a diary. This [is] not illegal (nothing [is] illegal, since there [are] no longer any laws), but if detected it [is] reasonably certain that it [will] be punished by death" (6). Even though Winston firmly comprehends the deadly consequences of his actions, he is willing to write in his diary and rebel averse the power of Big Brother. Winston then goes on to "printing in large neat capitals – DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER … over and over again, filling half a page" (18), hence confirming his thoughts to action and

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