The Nature of Winston Smith In George Orwell's novel 1984, Winston Smith, a member of the totalitarian party, harbours a secret hatred for them. Winston is employed by the Ministry of Truth's records department, where his responsibility is to rewrite historical events in order to ensure that the "past" supports the party's narrative. Additionally, he takes out people who have been removed by the party from pictures. Winston's animosity for the party intensifies throughout the book as he is perceived as rebelling against the government. Since Winston Smith serves as the main character in 1984, it is crucial to understand his character in order to fully comprehend the book. Winston is frequently rebellious, optimistic, and fearful. These characteristics …show more content…
With O'Brien's assistance, he joins it and is prepared to kill, torture, and even die for the brotherhood. We also get to experience his rebelliousness in only the first few pages of 1984. At the beginning of the novel, Winston purchases a diary. This in itself is an act of rebellion since diaries are meant to be personal and to express personal thoughts. But Oceania (Winston’s country) has police which are called “thought police” to especially capture the citizens for thinking in any way that opposes the party. They mainly do this with the power of the media. They have televisions in every unit that plays propaganda but also has microphones and cameras that are watching you like an eagle. Not only does Winston buy a diary, he also expresses his hatred towards the party and “Big Brother”. “I don’t care down with big brother, they always shoot you in the back of the neck…(Orwell 21) This shows his rebelliousness and hatred for the party. He is willing to put his life on the line just for his immense …show more content…
At the start of the novel, Winston can be deemed as an enemy of the party. He is also hopeful that there are other people that are the same as him because if the public revolts against the government, especially the proles there is a chance of overthrowing the party. Although this novel is pessimistic, we can see that Winston is quite the opposite. Another example is when O’Brien says that the party will remain in control forever. Winston thinks that O’Brien is wrong and consequently says, “I don’t care. In the end they will beat you. Sooner or later they will see you for what you are and tear you to pieces.” (19) This quote establishes that Winston has hope and believes the party will be