In George Orwell’s classic novel 1984, Winston Smith, the protagonist, struggles with oppression in the nation of Oceania, a land in which the powerful ruling Party rigidly controls all aspects of human life, including the thoughts and actions of its citizens. A low ranking member of the Party and employee as a records editor at the Ministry of Truth, Winston spends his days toiling at the bequest of Party leaders, changing and rewriting documents in order to control and reshape past history. Living in a totalitarian regime where dissent, individuality, and even noncompliant thought is punishable by death, Winston exhibits the audacity to rebel against the Party, becoming more and more defiant as the novel progresses. Ultimately refusing to succumb to Party wishes and joining a secret dissident group, Winston displays courage, rebelliousness fueled by morals and ideals, and individuality, venerable attributes deserving the admiration and respect of the novel’s audience. Arguably his most palpable and apparent trait, Winston reveals valor as the novel progresses, although his heroism is far from the conventional idea of gallantry. As opposed to attempting any massive feats of rebellion, Winston executes a series of smaller, more inconspicuous acts to question authority, defy the Party, and test its power. Bravely committing obvious criminal acts such as harboring dissenting thought, writing in a diary, and even engaging in sex, Winston repeatedly carries out serious offenses of defiance with the ultimate desire of achieving freedom and independence. Overcoming all fear to vent his anger, Winston writes “down with Big Brother” in his diary, committing the most fundamental of all rebellious acts that outweighs all o... ... middle of paper ... ...n spite of the degradation and humiliation of his torture, Winston demonstrates extreme steadfastness and resoluteness in fighting to maintain his spirit. Winston’s sense of individuality serves as another quality that the readers should regard with respect. Notwithstanding his betrayal and tragic downfall at the end of the novel, an event hastened by weeks of the prolonged torture and the threat of carnivorous rats, Winston Smith is a character worthy of the reader’s admiration. Orwell portrays Winston as a common man who throughout the novel displays several heroic behaviors and traits. In his repeated attempts to resist the repressive Party and the world in which he lives, Winston demonstrates courage, rebelliousness based on moral beliefs, and individuality, all qualities that merit the laudation, respect, and admiration of the reader. Word Count: 872
In “1984,” Orwell uses Winston to portray a single individual’s attempt to take action against a powerful government, culminating in his failure and subjugation. His individual efforts failed tremendously due to the overarching power of the Party to control every aspect of social life in Oceania. Orwell uses Winston’s deeply seated hatred of the Party to portray his views on power and social change. Winston’s actions show that even in the direst of situations ...
Winston Smith is a thirty-nine year old man who participates in a group of the “outer-party,” which is the lower part of the two classes. Smith works in one of the four main government buildings. This building is called the Ministry of Truth; his job is to rewrite history books so those that read them will not learn what the past used to be like. The occupation Winston is the major factor that allows him to realize that Big Brother is limiting people’s freedom. He keeps these thoughts to himself as secrets because the totalitarian party will not allow those of rebellious thoughts around. The tensions between the two grow throughout the book because the Big Brother becomes very suspicious of Winston. The Big Brother becomes so suspicious of Winston that he sends a person by the name O’Brien, to watch over him. Mr. O’Brien is a member of the “inner party,” which in this book is the upper-class. Winston doesn't know of the trap that Big Brother had set tells O’Brien of his own idea and plans. He tells Winston of a rebellious leader that has been rounding up those that want to go against the totalitarian government. But like the Big Brother had done, he set a trap and O’Brien betrayed Winston. During the story the conflict between Big Brother and Winston climaxes when Winston is caught. He is taken to some sort of bright underground prison type
Winston is confronted with struggle throughout the entirety of George Orwell`s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Living within a totalitarian regime subsequently causes Winston to seek approaches for dealing with such abundant oppression; he finds liberation through self-awareness, understanding and ultimately rebellion. First, Winston realizes that “if you want to keep a secret you must also hide it from yourself”, alluding to the notion of thoughtcrime (162). This recognition exemplifies the complete cognizance that Winston has regarding the oppressive society displayed throughout the novel. Next, Syme states “It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words”, alluding to the idea of Newspeak (28). This statement directly correlates to Winston speaking with other party members to gain knowledge about how others feels about policies deployed by the government. This information-seeking also connects with Winston`s rebellion, as he actively searched for others to join his uprising, which is shown when Winston tells O’Brien “We want to join [The Brotherhood]” (171). Winston’s attempt to join a rebellious organization exhibits his evident desire to release his suppressed emotions. Winston devises a very methodical approach to deal with the problematic society he resides in.
Winston’s change and expressions were miniscule resistance towards the whole society, but it still provides an example of an individual who chooses not to conform to society standards. Orwell expresses how even with a miniscule resistance towards conformity, we cannot get rid of it without the help of an entire society.
Upon Winston illegally writing in a journal, the book states, “Whether he wrote DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER, or whether he did not go on with it, made no difference. The Thought Police would get him just the same”. (Orwell 19) This proves that Winston is not simply acting recklessly, but he is conscious of the consequences of his actions and that they are an act of rebellion against Big Brother. “Whether Winston Smith is truly a humanist, in the classical sense of the term, is of no matter; in comparison to the totalitarian regime which destroys him, Winston is, in fact, the last embodiment of the human” . (Fitzpatrick) Winston knows that the party will destroy him, but it can be interpreted that he is symbolically the last human left, as he is the only one brave enough to oppose Big Brother and the
As his story develops, the quietly insubordinate Winston begins to challenge the extent of the Party’s power. He unfortunately discovers that The Party’s ability to monitor and control its citizens doesn’t compare to his paranoid notions of its influence. As the story develops we begin to see through Winston’s eyes how The Party uses a number of techniques to control its citizens, each of which is an important theme in the novel. The Party watches Winston through telescreens at all times, no matter where he goes. Everywhere he looks he can see the face of the Party’s leader. The Party controls everything in Oceania, even the people’s history and language. They are forcing the use of an invented language called Newspeak in an attempt to prevent political rebellion by eliminating all words that are considered related to it. Even thinking rebellious thoughts is illegal. Rebellious thoughts are viewed as thoughtcrime and considered to be the worst of all crimes. An act of self-expression, like simply writing in a diary, is an unpardonable crime. Winston is overcome with fear when he realizes that he has written “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER”. This is clear evidence that he believes in the inescapable presence of
George Orwell creates a dark, depressing and pessimistic world where the government has full control over the masses in the novel 1984. The protagonist, Winston, is low-level Party member who has grown to resent the society that he lives in. Orwell portrays him as a individual that begins to lose his sanity due to the constrictions of society. There are only two possible outcomes, either he becomes more effectively assimilated or he brings about the change he desires. Winston starts a journey towards his own self-destruction. His first defiant act is the diary where he writes “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER.” But he goes further by having an affair with Julia, another party member, renting a room over Mr. Carrington’s antique shop where Winston conducts this affair with Julia, and by following O’Brien who claims to have connections with the Brotherhood, the anti-Party movement led my Emmanuel Goldstein. Winston and Julia are both eventually arrested by the Thought Police when Mr. Carrington turns out to be a undercover officer. They both eventually betray each other when O’Brien conducts torture upon them at the Ministry of Love. Orwell conveys the limitations of the individual when it comes to doing something monumental like overthrowing the established hierarchy which is seen through the futility of Winston Smith’s actions that end with his failure instead of the end of Big Brother. Winston’s goal of liberating himself turns out to be hopeless when the people he trusted end up betraying him and how he was arbitrarily manipulated. It can be perceived that Winston was in fact concerned more about his own sanity and physical well-being because he gives into Big Brother after he is tortured and becomes content to live in the society he hated so much. Winston witnesses the weakness within the prole community because of their inability to understand the Party’s workings but he himself embodies weakness by sabotaging himself by associating with all the wrong people and by simply falling into the arms of Big Brother. Orwell created a world where there is no use but to assimilate from Winston’s perspective making his struggle utterly hopeless.
Winston was one of the few characters in the novel that tried to fight against the restrictive system of the Party. He commits deadly crimes like writing in a journal and falling in love and stays resilient in his attempts to keep his individuality and to live a fulfilling life. Orwell wrote his character as a way to portray what it means to be human, rather than a hero, as Winston ultimately failed and the Party was able to capture him. The Party had complete control over the citizens, and wanted authority simply to feel powerful and godlike, while Winston attempts to oppose due to his desperate desire to feel something
In the First section of 1984 Winston doesn’t openly rebel, he starts a journal in which he writes how he remember the history that has been re-written. This is called thought crime, because it goes against what the party tells you to know. The Thought Police are in charge of arresting people who commit Thought Crime. That is the start of Winston’s rebellion against Big Brother and The Party.
Imagine being completely powerless in a dystopian society and watched twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. In the novel, 1984 by George Orwell, Winston Smith is the protagonist who represents all oppressed citizens of Oceania but as the novel closes, Winston fails to make a change and instead surrenders to the overwhelming love he has for Big Brother. According to Orwell, heroism is defined by ordinary people doing whatever they can to change social systems that do not respect human decency, even with the knowledge that they cannot possibly succeed. Based on Orwell’s theory, Winston does not portray a hero. Through the changes in Winston Smith, Orwell depicts his message of manipulation and control that the Party has over its citizens.
George Orwell’s haunting dystopian novel 1984 delves into the closely monitored lives of the citizens of Oceania as the Party tries to take control of society. In totalitarianism, propaganda and terrorism are ways of subjugation with a main goal: total obedience. He aimed to create a “what if” novel, what would happen if totalitarian regimes, such as the Nazis and Soviets, were to take over the world. If totalitarianism were to happen, the leader would be the brain of the whole system. Orwell emphasizes the theme of individualism versus collective identity through Winston, the protagonist, and his defiance to the Party and Big Brother, with a frightening tone, surreal imagery and a third person limited point of view.
In the novel 1984, Orwell produced a social critique on totalitarianism and a future dystopia that made the world pause and think about our past, present and future. When reading this novel we all must take the time to think of the possibility that Orwell's world could come to pass. Orwell presents the concepts of power, marginalization, and resistance through physical, psychological, sexual and political control of the people of Oceania. The reader experiences the emotional ride through the eyes of Winston Smith, who was born into the oppressive life under the rule of Ingsoc. Readers are encouraged through Winston to adopt a negative opinion on the idea of communist rule and the inherent dangers of totalitarianism. The psychological manipulation and physical control are explored through Winston's journey, and with Winston's resistance and ultimate downfall, the reader is able to fully appreciate O'Briens reasoning, "Power is not a means, it is an end."
he is a man with a tragic flaw. Winston's fatalism, selfishness and isolation ultimately lead him to his
At the end of the novel, Orwell describes Winston as a cured patient who has over come his metal disease. “He had won the victory over himself: he loved Big Brother” (Part 3, Chapter 6). Both Freud and Orwell break down the components of a person’s mind in the same way. Orwell’s character, Winston, depicts the different parts of the human mind so described by Freud. In Orwell’s 1984, he uncovers the same components of a human mind as seen by Freud, the instinctual drive of the id, the perceptions and actions of the ego, and the censorship imposed by the morality of the superego.
George Orwell uses Winston to represent truth in a deceptive world in his novel 1984. In Oceania, Big Brother is the omnipotent and all powerful leader. Everything the government dictates is unquestionably true, regardless of prior knowledge. Even thinking of ideas that go against Big Brother’s regime, or thoughtcrime, is punishable by death. Winston serves as the dystopian hero, longing for freedom and change. Orwell uses Winston to emphasize the importance of individual freedoms, as they give us the ability to fulfillingly lead our respective lives.