George Orwell's novel “1984” is a story that takes place in a society where the government controls every aspect of people's lives. The three main characters, Winston Smith, Julia, and O'Brien. They go through significant changes as the novel progresses. Winston Smith is the protagonist of the story, and the reader follows his journey as he begins to question the society he lives in and ultimately rebels against it. At the beginning of the novel, Winston is a cautious and secretive person who hates the oppressive regime that he lives under. He secretly writes in a diary and has a strong desire to rebel against the government. As the novel progresses, Winston becomes more daring and takes bigger risks in his attempt to resist the government. …show more content…
It was safer; though, as he well knew, even a back can be revealing" (Chapter 1). This quote demonstrates Winston's caution and fear of being detected by the government. He knows that the telescreens are watching his every move and that even the slightest slip-up could lead to his arrest and torture. Another quote that demonstrates Winston's character development is "Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows" (Chapter 1). This quote shows that Winston has become more defiant and has started to question the government's propaganda. He understands that freedom of thought is essential to any rebellion, and he refuses to accept the government's …show more content…
Winston is a disaffected member of society who secretly rebels against the Party's control. Julia is a sexually liberated young woman who is indifferent to politics but enjoys the thrill of rebellion. O'Brien, a member of the ruling Inner Party, seems to sympathize with the rebels and offers encouragement and guidance to Winston. However, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that the Party's control is too powerful for any individual to resist. Winston is broken down by the Party's torture and brainwashing techniques and transformed into a loyal Party member. Julia, similarly, is converted into a loyalist, betraying Winston and confessing her love for the Party. O'Brien, revealed to be a loyal Party member all along, is instrumental in breaking down Winston and Julia and converting them into loyalists. Through the experiences of these characters, Orwell illustrates the power of totalitarianism to destroy individual freedom and the human spirit. Winston's transformation, in particular, serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of rebellion against an all-powerful regime. His initial desire to rebel against the Party is understandable, given the oppressive nature of the regime, but his failure to successfully challenge it demonstrates the futility of such rebellion in the face of overwhelming
In the book 1984, Winston’s “safe haven” is the idea of rebellion. Whether it is him dreaming of it, seeing Julia, or writing in his diary, he takes comfort in whatever act he can take against the Party. Much of the narrative has to do with Winston’s thought process. It is not an objective approach to the situation, and is therefore full of personality and opinion. Winston’s hopes and dreams of rebellion become a crucial part of the text, adding insight as well as limiting perspective to that of only one character.
This shows the contrast between Winston's career and his personal choices. His job is to alter the past so that everything agrees with the present, however, when given the slightest opportunity, Winston betrays the Party and begins writing in his journal about them and their lies. This is ironic because not only is the Ministry of Truth changing that past into lies, but Winston is also lying to the party about his loyalty. He is not openly admitting to disliking the Party and has continued to work for them despite his moral beliefs. This shows us to opposition between Winston’s job and how he feels about doing it.
Winston believes that “what he wanted, more even than to be loved, was to break down that wall of virtue, even if it were only once in his whole life. The sexual act, successfully performed, was rebellion. Desire was thoughtcrime” (71) This shows how he wanted to successfully rebel just once against the Party. But as he rebels he wants to rebel more.
This means that Winston understands that he will suffer for his individuality, but values it too much that he can’t be without it. Through this, Orwell gives his answer that he believes it is better to suffer for your individuality than
Despite his efforts to defy pressure and overthrow the ruling party, Winston submits to a higher authority. Winston wishes to test the limits of power, but in convincing himself that he is doomed to succeed, Winston takes risks and gets carried away in rebellion. As Winston sits with an open diary, the text details, "It was no longer the same cramped, awkward handwriting as before. His pen had slid voluptuously over the smooth paper, printing in large, neat capitals, 'DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER'" (13). Winston exposes himself to the internal notion of failure from the start, as he indicates foresight of his future adversities.
With this act of rebellion against the oppressive system of Oceania, Winston showcases his courage because he does all of this to aid him in his journey towards uncovering the truth of the past. Next, there is the selflessness that Winston possesses. For this specific quality, it is shown most prominently when Winston gets into a disagreement with Julia on their goals for their rebellion. During this argument, Winston firmly states that the reason for his desire to obtain and keep incriminating records of the Party’s lies is so that they can be left behind, thereby allowing for “‘the next generations [to] carry on where [they] leave off’” (196). From this, Winston demonstrates how unselfish he is because, rather than worrying about himself – like Julia – he wants actual change and progress to come as a result of his rebellion.
Winston Smith, the main character, is a man whose ethics and comportment have been heavily influenced by his milieu. Living in the austere and oppressive society of London, Oceania, Winston has been indoctrinated to suppress his emotions and thoughts and to conform to the ruling Party's ideology. However, Winston's inquisitiveness and yearning for liberty lead him to question the Party and its teachings. As he becomes more disenchanted with the Party and its propaganda, Winston's demeanor becomes more insubordinate, and he seeks out ways to resist the Party's control. Despite the peril of being caught and penalized by the Party, Winston continues to pursue his own moral code, which is at odds with the Party's tyrannical regime.
Winston conveys the clear message to beware of the ‘eyes’ of the party, enforcing the slogan “big brother is watching you. Winston promotes this awareness towards the other rebels of the party and general people to overall spread his knowledge and hopefully influence revolt. While
The main character, Winston, changed with the issues at hand. Throughout the beginning and middle of the book, Winston was set apart from everyone else; he had a rebellious soul. Rather than conforming and thinking like the majority, he felt the need to communicate with the future about the world’s current state. His diary was his first major act of rebellion. Then, his affair with Julia was a desire fulfilling act, and it went against the governing party’s rules.
Julia betrays Winston, however, Winston does not betray Julia. In the end, he cannot hold up against the brainwashing and comes to love Big Brother, the leader of the party. After he is released, he and Julia no longer have feelings for each other. He goes on to live an easy and mindless life. The only thing he has left is a few memories of a time before the Party.
The aforementioned quotes illustrate the extent of Winston’s desire for change and revolution, which can be inferred by the structure, language, and context present in the quotes. For example, the leading quote displays Winston’s desperation for change, as seen by the use of “hope” and the simple sentence structure of the statement. The use of “hope” shows that Winston’s desires hinge upon the proles, thereby illustrating the extent of his nonconformity; he is willing to place the burden of his own humanity upon the undereducated masses of society, because they are not restricted by the party’s orthodoxy, as opposed to viewing them as mindless cattle. Similarly, the simple sentence structure of the leading quote displays the certainty of
At the beginning of the novel, Winston made it prominent that he dissented Big Brother and his party’s idea. He wrote in his diary, in Book 1 Chapter 1, “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER…” (Orwell 18). This shows that Winston dissented his country’s government and was willing to rebel for he knew deep inside that
Winston has an imaginative mind and later in the book he claims that the “power that would one day overturn the world” lies “in the proles”. He feels that the fate of the Party would lie in their hands and “when their time came, the world they constructed would not be just as alien to him” since “at the least it would be a world of sanity” (220). Winston expresses one of his heroic qualities through displaying his vision for the good of
Rebellion is just one of the few concepts that is portrayed repeatedly throughout novels as it shows the true nature of a character through times of unfairness and despair. In the novel 1984, the main character Winston shows rebellion from his hatred of Big Brother to his secret love affair with Julia who was a member of the Party. In 1984, George Orwell illustrates the concept of rebellion, advocating that one can win back their true self from fighting for what they believe. Orwell conveys Winston’s diary to be a symbol of rebellion and how it was the first step in taking down the government and maintain his sense of humanity.
Eventually, it becomes blatant that Winston cannot change society, nor what will happen to others, or to himself. As a result, it is evident that Winston has no control over his fate. Winston’s primary goal is to remove the power of the party, and his method of doing so is to maintain the hate for the party and commit acts that