Winston Smith was one of the few people who dared to attempt to rebel against the government. His need for companionship “ He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the monster. He was alone” (page 28), and hatred for the Party “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” (page 20), drove him to commit his first act of rebellion, writing in his journal.
Nearly all of Winston’s daydreams center themselves around an imaginary uprising, whether it be the desire to partake in it, or the fear of being caught. All of these visions start with his impulsive decision to buy the diary, and
Throughout the story, Winston commits various “thoughtcrimes”, which are punishable by death, against “Big Brother” in order to escape its tyranny. We see the things he commits these crimes with, specifically with his diary and Julia, to be what he cherishes most. At the start of the book, Winston’s first “thoughtcrime” was writing in his diary. In this society, expressing thought is against the law and
Over the course of 1984 Winston dramatically changes. He was always kept to himself until he met Julia who changed in various ways. He is now worse than he has ever been before and it only gets worse. Winston has changed in many ways one being how open he is about being against the government.
“No emotion was pure, because everything was mixed up with fear and hatred.” Everyone has experienced fear before, but not everyone has experienced the kind of fear that can be put into one specific category of emotional manipulation. Winston Smith, the main protagonist of the controversial but captivating novel, 1984, is one of the select few. The question we want to try and ask ourselves is why the author of this book, George Orwell, decided to use fear more as a weapon than just a simple symbol when warning us about the future. Throughout the story, Winston battles emotionally with the effects of the Party, the harsh government home to Winston’s world, Oceania.
His diary is one of the ways Winston shows that he is courageous. By Winston keeping a diary, he is committing thoughtcrime because
Imagine a Government that is designed to create humans that are unable to develop their own understanding of how the world operates. In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, Winston and Julia struggle to overcome the totalitarian nature of their government. They undergo many changes along the way. In this society, Winston and Julia’s lives are impacted greatly in both positive and negative ways. Winston's life changes greatly because of the society he is living in.
In George Orwell’s lasting novel 1984, he creates a society where no free thought or free will is allowed. Even thoughts (Thoughtcrimes) or facial expressions (Facecrimes) can end in torture and eventually, disappearance. In this novel, Winston Smith’s fate is sealed from the beginning but he still tries to exercise his own free will. Winston often knows that his actions will get him caught, but he continues to make his own (bad) decisions: "Whether he wrote DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER, or if he refrained from writing it, made no difference. Whether he went on with the diary, or whether he did not go on with it, made no difference.
Winston’s realization of the Party’s morally wrong actions gets him to start rebelling against him. The first instance of a rebellion is when he purchases a diary from a store, which is prohibited. He secretly writes down any anti-Party suspicions, knowing that he is going to get captured for it. In the first act of 1984, Winston continues to write in his diary.
The main character Winston is known for his fatalistic outlook on his life, but do his mental issues go deeper than that? Winston is a character who is known to be socially awkward, even to the point where he seems like he has social anxiety, but this trait is not constant. There are times when he is around Julia where he exhibits uncharacteristic habits with his body language and words. Almost like he is a totally different person, this leads me to believe that Winston has dissociative identity disorder. Dissociative identity disorder, better known as multiple personality disorder occurs “When an individual displays two or more different personality states or identities that recurrently take control of the person’s behavior.
(Orwell 19) By explaining his urge as a “kind of hysteria” it expresses an urge within him that is suppressed by Oceania’s laws. Furthermore, explaining how his writing was a “hurried untidy sprawl,” the release he feels can be seen. Not caring how neat his words are, represents how he is getting his thoughts out in any way possible. This small rebellion helps Winston to express himself because he is breaking out of the strict standard that society has set for him.
The reader can see, however, that Winston, despite his “loyalty” to The Party, is still committing acts of rebellion. Orwell depicts Winston arriving at home and instantly pulls out a notebook and beginning to write. The act of having a notebook alone is considered a crime. The term “thought-crime” is commonly used in this society. The Party does not allow individualized thoughts, therefore, confirming, the idea that Winston’s use of a journal is his first act of documented rebellion.
George Orwell doesn’t fail to amaze when creating the characteristics of the people in the novel, 1984. They all have an interesting take, whether considered a protagonist or an antagonist. Orwell even states specific qualities of the minor characters within the book. However, Winston Smith as the main character of 1984 quite obviously is a vital piece in the story so it is important to understand him in how Orwell intended him to be. Such as his motivations and why he does them in the first place.
After a day of work, he wrote “I do not understand WHY” when questioning the motive and purpose of his job of falsifying the past (Orwell 88). People are supposed to blindly conform to the norms of their society, but Winston thinks beyond what is told to him. This symbolizes rebellion because intelligence is a powerful tool when opposing a stronger force. Furthermore, Winston wondered, “how to get in touch with” and “arrange a meeting” with Julia, even though it would be a forbidden affair. Outside of arranged marriages, there are no allowed relationships in his society.
In the entry, Winston tries explain as to how the party and Big brother use different forms of media to spread their propaganda, which will lead them to ultimate power. He also makes an attempt to instigate mutual feelings in Winston smith of the future. The overall tone in the diary entry is more or less plane sailing. In most part of the entry it is very dour with some parts giving a feeling of fear to the
