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1984 Winston A Hero Essay

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In George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984," the protagonist Winston embodies both hero and anti-hero qualities, challenging traditional definitions of heroism. While he displays traits such as bravery, selflessness, and a desire for freedom, his rebellious actions against the Party's principles also position him as an anti-hero. By exploring additional facets of Winston's character, we can gain a deeper understanding of the complexities that make him defy easy categorization.

Winston's bravery extends beyond mere defiance; it lies in his pursuit of truth and his unwavering determination to challenge the Party's indoctrination. Despite living in a society that actively suppresses independent thought and expression, Winston dares to question …show more content…

He recognizes that his fight against the Party is not just about his individual liberation but also about the emancipation of society as a whole. Winston's involvement with the underground resistance movement, the Brotherhood, demonstrates his commitment to the greater cause. Despite the risks, he joins the struggle to dismantle the Party's oppressive regime and restore freedom to the people. This selflessness is evident when Winston acknowledges, "The Brotherhood cannot be wiped out because it is not an organization in the ordinary sense" (Orwell 118). This statement underscores Winston's understanding that the Brotherhood represents a larger movement beyond individual interests, positioning him as a heroic figure fighting for the common …show more content…

Their affair can be seen as a form of escapism, providing solace and intimacy in a world devoid of love. While their actions may not align with traditional notions of heroism, their rebellion against the Party becomes a political act, as Winston himself reflects, "Their embrace had been a battle, the climax a victory. It was a blow struck against the Party. It was a political act" (Orwell 133). This perspective highlights the subversive nature of their relationship and the potential impact of their personal defiance against the Party's control.

Winston's character represents a paradox between heroism and anti-heroism, challenging traditional definitions of these terms. He possesses both heroic and anti-heroic qualities, making it challenging to categorize him definitively. The paradox of Winston's character reveals a deeper complexity in the idea of heroism and anti-heroism. It highlights how a character's actions can blur the lines between what is considered heroic and what is considered

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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

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1. Winston believes that the true way to defeat the Party is by the proles. He says that he knows that power lies within the proles and that power can be used to overthrow and defeat the Party. 2. To Winston, the most important thing for him is that he knows that the Brotherhood exists.

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(286). It is possible for the nature of love to be strong, but in Winston’s case, love is not strong enough when confronted with physical torment, manipulating the emotions from its joyous forms to poisonous, self-destructing ones. Not only was Winston’s love for Julia destroyed by the Party, Julia herself was a spy of the Party who had been secretly observing Winston. This act of deception is demonstrated by the many hints that Orwell left throughout the novel, such as Julia’s lack of interest in the history of the Party when Winston reads to her from Emmanuel Goldstein’s book. Julia emotionally manipulates Winston because she never truly loved him, and was only with him to expose Winston to the Party.

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They typically bring out sensitivity or esteem in others and they ordinarily have a defect that makes them unsuccessful. Anti-heroes regularly lack basic courageous traits, for example, soul, respectability or simple qualities. In spite of these imperfections this character has, he turns out to be the modern anti-hero due to his morals being in the right place. Winston trusts everybody ought to be given equivalent opportunity, and he understands the dishonesty the Party makes. He shows bravery by defying the Party, and remaining by his choice even when he was seized.

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1984: Is Winston Smith A Hero? Winston Smith, the main protagonist in George Orwell's dystopian novel, "1984". This novel tells a story of a controlled society with no freedom.

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The rebellion against the party is not possible because the party dies have absolute power and influence of Oceania. “Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them again new shapes of your own choosing”( ) Big brother believe in putting fear into the people’s mind and confusing them to believe what they believe is right. Winston is reduced to not having the power of reason he confesses to crimes he didn’t even do as if he does not have a mind of his own the essentially the first step toward his transformation. Despite prolonged torture, Winston's final gesture is to essentially hold on to his private loyalty to his secret love Julia he refuses to denounce her.

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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

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Many a literary critic claims that the strongest aspect of the book 1984 by George Orwell is its plot. Indeed, there is some merit in this conclusion, as the entire purpose of Orwell’s writing of this book was not to create a literary classic, but to warn the public about the dangers of communism if it got out of hand, and what better way to do this than to write an engaging plot? Others may claim that 1984’s greatest strength is in its character development. This aspect, too, is quite strong in the book, as not only are the minor characters effected in serving the dystopian theme, but the major characters are believable and very human in their failings. Winston’s transformation from an oppressed office worker to revolutionary and finally

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Finally, the last component of Winston Smith’s heroism that must be taken into consideration is his character. More specifically, it is a matter of which attributes allow him to be a hero that readers can admire and emulate – a cardinal aspect to any literary hero. For Winston, it is his demonstration of courage, selflessness, and determination throughout the novel that explicitly makes him prevail as the respected hero of 1984, in spite of his failure to endure his hatred for the Party. To begin, it is only natural to start with Winston’s courage, as this makes its first appearance early in the novel when he purchases the paperweight from the junk-shop: “It was a queer thing, even a compromising thing, for a Party member to have in his possession”

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However, in George Orwell's 1984, this image becomes distorted. Winston Smith, the protagonist of 1984, is depicted as an antihero. Throughout the story Winston rebels against an oppressive government, vowing to do everything in his power to destroy it, yet he is inevitably converted to a believer. During this story we see first hand that Winston Smith is an inherent anti-hero whose extensive flaws, deplorable

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Our complexities in character are also reflected in our actions, whose moral ambiguity raises doubts about them being good or bad. It makes the character of an anti-hero more intriguing as it reflects how our own actions often cannot be categorized into black or white, but rather lie in a gray area. The example of Winston Smith’s betrayal shows exactly that. It is revealed through the narrative structure of three chapters which show how Winston’s character changes from a seemingly heroic figure who wants to change his and other’s misery to a man who betrays his partner to survive. Winston’s betrayal of Julia displays an action of ambiguous nature, as it is unclear if this was the only way his life could have been saved and even if, if that was the right thing to do.

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In Winston’s believes, liberation is an entity hidden behind a mist of futility, an endless cycle of failed uprisings caused by the insolence of the general masses. The cycle also represents the situation that Winston finds himself within, regardless of his awareness he is still paralyzed by the irrational animalistic instinct to cower in fear of the party’s promised punishment. Resulting in his apathy towards revolution which causes him to abstain from any true revolutionary undertaking; as a result, the cycle of despair continues infinitely. Moreover, the paradox may highlight the extent of Winston’s indoctrination by the party. Winston views the revolution as fantastical due to the Proles oblivious nature, which is an assumption that is made by Winson as a result of party propaganda, which states that all “proles and animals are free”.

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It was a blow struck against the Party. It was a political act” (126). This quote shows an act of rebellion against the Party by Winston because in their world sex is an act of outright rebellion against the Party, which forbids pure lust and pure love. Winston is more so infatuated with Julia because it is seen as a betrayal against the Party.

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The Party’s approach to life has not always been for everyone, including Winston who frequently gets angry at their actions. In the beginning of the book, Winston says he was writing, “as though by automatic action… DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” (1.1.18). His thoughts and actions toward Big Brother and the Party have become so strong that he is involuntarily writing words against them. Winston also resents the rule that there can be no love in Oceania, and leaps at the chance to break it.

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Winston Smith, the protagonist in George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four is portrayed by the author to be a person very different from the character of a hero in the traditional sense. He is not supremely courageous or extraordinary in any way. Winston is a deeply flawed and complex individual who is not equipped with the virtual invincibility of a classic hero. He is essentially not a significant character in the context of the book’s setting. He does not lead a grand revolution or take on Big Brother directly.

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