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A Clockwork Orange Memorable Losers Analysis

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Both Nineteen Eighty-Four and A Clockwork Orange present their protagonists as memorable losers through the use of history, the distinctive language and the chronological structure emphasising contrast. The “protagonist” is the leading character of the story: which is Winston in Nineteen Eighty-Four and Alex in A Clockwork Orange. The phrase “memorable losers” is a paradox, as losers are often the ones who are forgotten, which is the opposite of the heroes who are remembered. Winston and Alex are both memorable because they dare to challenge social norms that others mindlessly obey, but they are losers because whilst they have courage, they lack the ability to achieve lasting change. Winston is the only one who dares to challenge the totalitarian …show more content…

It is questionable whether this has also caused them to become arrogant and leads to their failures in their quests, but this imperfectness has definitely caused them to become memorable as they become closer to real human beings rather than the perfect traditional heroes. Winston’s rebellion only exists in his mind rather than his action, but he does have a strong sense of superiority over others. The fact that he calls Julia “a rebel from the waist downwards” shows the flaws in Winston’s personality, we can see his lack of respect to female, and it seems like their relationship is more likely to be a minor fight back to the party rather than something out of romantic love. Winston also stated that “She knew when to cheer and when to boo, and that was all one needed” suggesting that they lack real communication as well. All Winston wants Julia for is the sexual relationship they can have and the fact that she is someone that can listen even though she does not understand or have an interest in it. As Critic Sue Lonoff suggests “Winston and Julia cannot make love without remembering that someday they will be destroyed” and how this is a hedonism action for Julia but Winston is inviting the party “to destroy him” through sexual behaviours. For me this idea that Lonoff is what makes Winston even more memorable because although this might be just a small-scale minor rebel, but he is daring to risk his life for it. (CONTEXT, 1984) Burgess illustrates Alex’s rebellious heart through the 1st person narration. From Alex’s mention of “with the shortage of police and we fine young malchickiwicks about, and this prof type chelloveck was the only one walking in the whole of the street” we see that Alex has no care about the consequences of his actions. Critic Skye Sherwin believes that “Alex from A Clockwork Orange is one of fiction’s

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502 Words | 3 Pages

Winston and Obrien have a weird eye connection in the beginning of the book. Julia- Julia and Winston have a secret affair. Winston and Julia Rebel against Big Brother together. Mr. Charrington- Seems to support Winston’s rebellion against the Party and his relationship with Julia. He also rents Winston a room without a television.

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714 Words | 3 Pages

Not worrying about her future, Julia strikes out by wanting her own freedom and the good things in life. To her it was, being able to have pleasure with whomever, and eat and wear what she wants. Rebelling for Julia, was just a daily lifestyle. Julia tries to keep Winston young and opperating like her, Getting him to rebel and never give up for his beliefs. When Julia is with Winston, he explains that they are dead for going against the Party.

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779 Words | 4 Pages

In this time of torture and interrogation, he was given a chance to show his great heroic strength. He could have continued to rebel by keeping quiet and taking his unfair punishment, but instead, he was weak and gave in to Big Brother. By giving up Julia, Winston gives Big Brother the message that he loved them more than any other person, which is exactly what they want. Winston is not a hero because the government was able to take his free will and make him their pawn, just like so many other

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480 Words | 2 Pages

Outwardly, he could not be seen with her at all, or at least romantically. The two would have to strategically plan meeting places, such as a field and an abandoned church, in order to keep their forbidden love a secret. Winston knew in his heart that he loved her, but also knew that romantic relationships were illegal and bound with consequence. The outward concealing of their relationship along with the inward love that they shared gave the novel a romantic appeal that grasped the attention of readers. This also exposed the horrors of a dystopia, being that no one can truly be happy or lead his/her own

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431 Words | 2 Pages

He has hope in them, but in the end this hope is never proven, nor any other way the Party was defeated. Julia is the character who exhibits the most defiance against the Party. She goes against the Party by breaking the rule about sex outside of marriage, even just the act on it’s own. Winston ponders on the idea, going on in his thoughts on the idea, “He wondered vaguely how many others like her might be in the younger generation--not rebelling against its authority but simply evading it, as a rabbit dodges a dog” (131). This act of rebellion is subtle and proves that there are those who will go against the Party, perhaps not outright fighting, but in silence.

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244 Words | 1 Pages

Inspiring Other to Serve During the French Revolution, Napoleon learned to inspire his men by offering them carrots, not sticks. This means that instead of resorting to fear/coercion as a means of gaining soldiers (a common practice of the time), Napoleon chose to incentivize his men, allowing them to believe in fighting for a noble cause: the good of their country (Harvey 2008) Modern leaders in the Army still utilize and practice many of the same principles/strategies that were established during this time period (w/ exceptions of course, i.e. providing plunder as payment). In regards to Napoleon 's tactics, there are a great deal of similarities that can be established with our military 's focus on morale and encouragement. Presently,

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1505 Words | 7 Pages

Winston fails to stay true to his belief of staying loyal to Julia going against how a hero is someone who is idealized for being moral. As part of the Party’s plan to reintegrate those who have rebelled against them, the final step is going to room 101 that holds “the worst thing in the world” (283). Winston and Julia have fail to betray each other throughout their obscure time in the Ministry of Love until one of Winston’s greatest fears, rats are literally brought to the table. Winston fears rats more than anything and he did not want to interact with them in any negative way causing him to yell out “'Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia!

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589 Words | 3 Pages

In today’s society, people have sex with strangers solely for pleasure and fun. In Oceania sex is only for making babies and not for the human connection or love of the other person. Similar to 1984, most people do not have sex in terms of making love or for the relationship it creates between them. With the absence of love between characters, a true human connection is ultimately destroyed and does not exist between anyone. Winston and Julia eventually come together to break the rules.

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1640 Words | 7 Pages

Winston and Julia sticking together is the most important thing because it shows who they are. They are in love with each other and they are the only thing either of them has going for them because of the life they live. If they did betray each other then they both would go down for the crimes they committed and so does anyone else they know that knows about there crimes. Not confessing is also important because it shows that they are human and care for each other. "If you feel that staying human is worth while, even when it can't have any results whatever, you've beaten them" (Orwell 166).

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1031 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout the novel, Winston constantly references the fact that ‘Today there were fear, hatred and pain’ and that in this society of Ingsoc ‘No emotion was pure, because everything was mixed up with fear and hatred’ and this is displayed in many, various ways. An example of this is when Winston writes about when he went to see a film stating that the ‘Audience were much amused by shots of a great huge fat man trying to swim away with a helicopter after him’ and that ‘there was a wonderful shot of a child’s arm going up up up right up into the air…and there was a lot of applause from the party seats’. This displays the extent to which

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955 Words | 4 Pages

The heroic efforts by Winston and Julia were completely thwarted. Winston had finally shown signs that he could be a hero. But they were ruined by O’Brien. Julia and Winston are forced to separate and then they are both subject to torture. The downfall of Winston begins at this point, any heroic signs that had begun to sprout out of Winston were utterly destroyed.

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1343 Words | 6 Pages

Once Julia has given Winston the note that says ‘I love you’ on it, they begin meeting each other in private, but Winston is not sexually attracted to Julia like she is to him; “Their embrace had been a battle, the climax a victory. It was a blow against the part. It was a political act” (Orwell, 104). In 1984 relationships are forbidden, unless to only reproduce children for the party, making Winston and Julia’s relationship extremely

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825 Words | 4 Pages

When Julia hands him the note saying “I love you”, he states, “the desire to live had welled up inside him, and the taking of minor risks suddenly seemed stupid” (2.1.109). Winston is no longer interested in his previously small acts of rebellion. He wants to deepen his actions and carry out a force much greater than simply writing in a journal. Winston enjoys the fact that he’s becoming a rebel, and takes great pride in the fact that he is

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951 Words | 4 Pages

The decisions we make have the ability to impact our future/life paths and unwise decisions can result in major consequences. The novel 1984 by George Orwell and the short story “On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien equally represent the fact that when we make decisions, they largely impact what lies ahead in the future. Orwell and O’Brien both investigate and answer the essential question in their stories through such things as the theme, characters, plot, etc. The characters in these stories both make major decisions throughout the plot which, in result, alters the outcome of their futures. In George Orwell’s 1984, the main characters, Winston and Julia, begin to rebel against the government and the enforced rules.

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736 Words | 3 Pages

They both get a thrill out of acting traitorous. However, while they have that in common along with a mutual desire for each other, they have several differences. Winston dreams of the days before Big Brother and possess the desire to join the Brotherhood and bring down Big Brother. Julia, on the other hand, does not really understand the full concept of what she is rebelling against, and in fact, she does not really even care. Julia is younger than Winston and does not remember the time before the revolution while Winston can.

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