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Winston Smith: A True Hero

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From the dawn of humanity to the modern age of today, discrete generations of heroes have risen one after another in completely different time periods. Yet despite all the drastic changes throughout history, the definition of a hero has nevertheless managed to be preserved: an individual who exhibits exemplary courage and noble qualities for others to emulate. In the novel 1984, the protagonist, Winston Smith, embodies numerous characteristics that can be argued to be heroic as he pursues the perilous endeavor of undermining the totalitarian state of “The Party”. However, the fact Winston ultimately fails in providing any meaningful resistance to the Party’s dystopian society is what prevents his character from being elevated to the status …show more content…

While his courage in rebelling against the potency of the Party can be admired, the method he chooses to employ in order to achieve his goal is not only morally reprehensible, but also very non-heroic. For example, in his discourse with O’Brien, Winston declares he is “prepared to commit murder…to commit acts of sabotage which may cause the death of hundreds of innocent people [and] to throw sulphuric acid in a child’s face” if it meant weakening the power of the Party (179-180). True heroes like Beowulf and Odysseus would never commit such unethical and detestable acts even if it meant succeeding. Winston’s decision to do so demonstrates he is just an ordinary human whose conscience can be easily clouded in the wake of adversity. (possible …show more content…

His ultimate failure to shed light into the darkness of his dystopian society in addition to his character flaws is what really impedes him from being recognized as a hero. Readers do not remember Winston for his courage in actually undertaking the treacherous act of rebelling against the Party’s authority, but rather his failure allows them to only remember his character flaws which almost seem to have destined him for failure. That is, in the totalitarian state of Oceania, there can be no heroes because are humans are only meant to be controlled like mindless drones. This assertion is clear in the final moments of the novel as Winston sits emotionless in Chestnut Tree Café facing the reality of the world – one where heroes are

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Yash Patel Mrs. Choi AP Literature October 2015 1984 Dialectal Journals for Part 2 Text Response 1. “In front of him was an enemy who was trying to kill him; in front of him, also was a human creature… He had indistinctively started forward to help her,” (Orwell 106) This quote shows that even in this time where they live in a life where they are being manipulated, Winston is still living in a time where he is experiencing hatred, but still maintains what keeps him normal or humane, which keeps him separated from everyone else. This hate is showing that people still have hate for each other and still want to kill each other but it also shows the true human he is by helping her when she was threatened.

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Many a literary critic claims that the strongest aspect of the book 1984 by George Orwell is its plot. Indeed, there is some merit in this conclusion, as the entire purpose of Orwell’s writing of this book was not to create a literary classic, but to warn the public about the dangers of communism if it got out of hand, and what better way to do this than to write an engaging plot? Others may claim that 1984’s greatest strength is in its character development. This aspect, too, is quite strong in the book, as not only are the minor characters effected in serving the dystopian theme, but the major characters are believable and very human in their failings. Winston’s transformation from an oppressed office worker to revolutionary and finally

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Winston Smith is just an ordinary man, yet he finds the strength within himself to oppose what is destroying

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At the beginning of the novel, Winston made it prominent that he dissented Big Brother and his party’s idea. He wrote in his diary, in Book 1 Chapter 1, “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER…” (Orwell 18). This shows that Winston dissented his country’s government and was willing to rebel for he knew deep inside that

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George Orwell wrote 1984 back in the midst of World War II, which is alluded to multiple times in the book. He discussed what this world might turn into if we do not take action against the European leaders. The book depicts a over-controlling government, referred to as the Party, which is constantly spying on the citizens of the dystopian society called Oceania. One of the Outer-Party members named Winston Smith realizes the wrongdoings of the government and starts to rebel against them. Throughout the entirety of 1984, Winston can be seen as a hero by his defiance against the Party, his hatred toward the Party, and how he may have sparked a rebellion.

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The aforementioned quotes illustrate the extent of Winston’s desire for change and revolution, which can be inferred by the structure, language, and context present in the quotes. For example, the leading quote displays Winston’s desperation for change, as seen by the use of “hope” and the simple sentence structure of the statement. The use of “hope” shows that Winston’s desires hinge upon the proles, thereby illustrating the extent of his nonconformity; he is willing to place the burden of his own humanity upon the undereducated masses of society, because they are not restricted by the party’s orthodoxy, as opposed to viewing them as mindless cattle. Similarly, the simple sentence structure of the leading quote displays the certainty of

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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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Being the main character makes you the protagonist, not the hero. Winston is no hero. He is a weak man who was as equally attracted to sexual desires and release from pain as he is in liberating the people of Oceania from BB. He gave up his one love, Julia, conspired to murder his wife, and agreed to acts that would benefit the government he sought to overthrow.

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It is at this moment in the book that Winston becomes known as the heroic

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Many of which, Winston tried his best to rebel against the government, but he was caught and tortured and he ultimately failed. In the end, the people 's ignorance has given the government strength and

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In the book 1984, written by George Orwell, the main character is Winston Smith. A simple, frail, skinny man, wanting to know what life was like before the revolution, and just to have a small taste of freedom. Is Winston a typical storybook hero? Or is he is something else, something better or worse?

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The Party’s approach to life has not always been for everyone, including Winston who frequently gets angry at their actions. In the beginning of the book, Winston says he was writing, “as though by automatic action… DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” (1.1.18). His thoughts and actions toward Big Brother and the Party have become so strong that he is involuntarily writing words against them. Winston also resents the rule that there can be no love in Oceania, and leaps at the chance to break it.

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In Orwell’s novel 1984, Room 101 represents the power of the Party and is the room where Winstons spirit is crushed. Room 101 is a presentation utilized by the party to show absolute dominance. It proves that the party has the power to totally ruin someone through the use of their deepest fear. Fear is the ultimate dominance. If you can purchase the power to pressure someone to meet their biggest fear, you have the ultimate dominance over that individual.

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