Character Vs. Society In George Orwell's 1984

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In a world where thought is monitored, and actions are watched continuously by neighbors, strangers, and cameras, the conflicts that exist in that type of world are astronomical. This is the type of world that the main character of George Orwell?s book 1984, Winston Smith, lives his life in. So it is no surprise that Winston faces many forms of conflict, mainly within the range of character vs. character and character vs. society. Winston Smith faces many challenges within this novel, starting with the external challenges posed by other characters. One of the most prominent conflicts in this storyline in the beginning, was Winston?s conflict with Julia. Their first conflict occurs during a two-minute hate. Two minute hates are when Big brother, the government leader, plays …show more content…

Their first conflict happened during one of these hates, where he had already been suspicious of her because he felt he saw her too often, and feared she was part of the thought police, where he glanced at her, and all his anger and hatred transferred to her face, where he fantasized about attacking her, raping her, and then cutting her throat. Later on in the novel it becomes obvious that she is only being around him because she considers herself in love with him. A sexual relationship soon after the fact follows. Following that conflict, Winston also has conflict with a character by the name of O?Brien. O?Brien is a high ranking party member which leads him to have a multitude of privileges that other citizens of Oceanic (the name of Winston?s country) do not. This includes things like the ability to turn off his telescreen (piece of equipment that is in everyone?s house which not only continuously broadcasts party