Winston Smith In George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four

Winston Smith, the protagonist in George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four is portrayed by the author to be a person very different from the character of a hero in the traditional sense. He is not supremely courageous or extraordinary in any way. Winston is a deeply flawed and complex individual who is not equipped with the virtual invincibility of a classic hero. He is essentially not a significant character in the context of the book’s setting. He does not lead a grand revolution or take on Big Brother directly. Instead, he performs small acts of mutiny every day because his rebellion is not an international insurrection, but a small-scale personal one. He focuses on various ways to keep him conscious of the world around him,

Not in the classic epic hero sense, but a hero nonetheless. He acted out against his enemy and paid the ultimate price for his actions-his life. But more than his life, he lost the very characteristics that motivated him to defy the Party. Although Winston is not large in stature or supremely intelligent, he rises up to the government that he believes is wicked. Unlike the rest of Oceania, he does not yield to the brainwashing of Big Brother for as long as he can and instead holds firm to his individuality and independence. Winston’s character exhibits the characteristics of a modern hero, one who challenges the antagonist of the story but also has his very human flaws. Through the character of Winston Smith, author George Orwell expresses a message about the duality of the modern hero. Though somewhat cowardly, Winston displays several characteristics of a hero. He fights for what he believes in and is willing to give up his life for this cause. His relationship with Julia, resistance of Big Brother propaganda, and small acts of mutiny all create the hero that Winston becomes. Although he submits to the Party at the conclusion of the novel, his efforts to fight back throughout the story make him a hero audiences can