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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.
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
Entry 2 In the third chapter, I began to learn a little bit about Winston’s past and the past of this whole crazy place called Oceania in which he lives. In the beginning of this book, Winston talks about how one can’t control what they dream so they are left vulnerable when they sleep. This vulnerability is clearly a theme because Winston has a meaningful dream about his mother and young sister, “Winston was dreaming of his mother. He must, he thought have been ten or twelve years old when his mother had disappeared.
Owning the diary is a punishable offense and the contents of the diary would get Winston convicted of Thoughtcrime. He writes anti-party messages in his book, such as “down with Big Brother” to privately resist the regime. Though Winston is committing a crime by
His diary is one of the ways Winston shows that he is courageous. By Winston keeping a diary, he is committing thoughtcrime because
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 novel describes the journey of Winston Smith as he rebels against the Party and tries to maintain his human qualities. By creating a totalitarian government in the novel 1984, George Orwell is able to express how important humanity is to not only Winston but also
Keeping a diary is known and perceived as an act of defiance. This resonated with Orwell's definition of a hero due to the act of rebellion and fighting. His want for change within the limited self-expression the Party forced upon the citizens goes against the societal norms that do not respect human decency. To showcase this, in the novel Winston states, “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two makes four. If that is granted, all else follows.”
Oceania’s government focuses almost entirely on outlawing any kind of thought or behavior. Diaries are typically associated with excessive thought and emotion, the exact opposite of Oceanias standards. Winston seizes the opportunity to rebel through writing in this diary. While writing, he explains how “for a moment he was seized by a kind of hysteria. He began writing in a hurried untidy scrawl”.
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.
Winston is defiant and rebels against Big Brother and the Party through various illegal actions. After purchasing an empty diary, he continuously wrote “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” when the telescreens were out of view (Orwell 21). This simple thought is considered to be a severe crime where Winston lives because it is direct disapproval towards the Party. Winston feels as if Big Brother is controlling every aspect of his life, so this rebellious action allows for him to vent his frustration.
This moment of weakness for Winston demonstrates his ego because he is satisfying his urge to rebel against the government in an efficient and appropriate way, as described by Marie Doorey in a reference about psychoanalysis (Doorey). Winston waited until he had acquired the diary to begin conspiring his thoughts against Big Brother. Winston mistakenly thought he was writing in secret, when in fact he was not. He was always being watched by Big Brother. Moreover, Winston attempts expressing his individuality by writing his thoughts and feelings in the diary.
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
Literacy is a socially constructed concept which is important in shaping a student’s thinking and views, producing high quality of social thinkers and learners which in turn leads to nation development. To nurture the literacy among the students, teachers take into a great account. Literacy has been studied in different conceptual frameworks and was revealed to be subjective to individuals. How a teacher perceive literacy shape their views and beliefs towards it. Teachers’ belief about literacy can be viewed as the teachers’ beliefs “in determining how (they) teach reading and writing” (Falcón-Huertas, 2006, p. 27).
