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Winston's Dystopian Culture

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In George Orwell’s 1984, the country of Oceania has a culture deeply invested in loyalty towards Big Brother, and heavily focused on conformity and the suppression individual thought. This culture results in the book’s protagonist, Winston Smith, slowly developing a personality that revolves around rebellion. Although, he knows that his rebellious ways are morally wrong in the eyes of the Thought Police and the other citizens of Oceania, Winston cannot help but to feel as though he is the only one aware of the controlling nature of Oceania’s Big Brother driven culture. In Oceania, citizens are responsible for reporting thought-crimes committed by their peers to the thought police. This civic duty is drilled into Oceanians from childhood, as shown by organizations such as the Junior Spies, and results in a culture lacking alliances and trust. However, as a result of Winston choosing to believe that people such as O’Brien and Mr. Charrington have morals, when referring to big brother, that closely match his own, he went against the “every man for himself” type of culture that exists in Oceania, which ultimately led …show more content…

After falling in love with Julia and learning that there are other people in Oceania who wish to go against the ruling of INGSOC, Winston allows himself to give in to the desires that he had previously been too scared to indulge in, such as having repeated visits with Julia and purchasing items from Mr. Charrington’s shop that he knows would be reason for suspicion. After going against the wishes of Big Brother, Winston is arrested, and eventually allows his mind to succumb to the wishes of O’Brien. This is a sharp contrast to the morals centered around individual beliefs that Winston once held to a higher standard than his feelings towards Big

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As a result of Winston’s neglect of the rules, he was able to maintain his own perspective, as he attempted to defeat Big Brother’s ‘sinister plan’. “You’re a flaw in the pattern, Winston. You are a stain that must be wiped out….when finally you surrender to us, it must be of your own free will,” stated O’Brien (page 255). In the book, free will depicted the Ministry’s truthful judgments of the state of mind, which happened to correspond to Winston’s freedom of beliefs. When O’Brien was torturing Winston, he revealed Big Brother’s notions of simply destroying the rebelling mind of any person who had dared to testify against The Party’s core values.

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In the novel, 1984 written by George Orwell takes place in a continent named Oceania and it is constantly being controlled and watched by the government, “BIG BROTHER”. Winston Smith, lives in the society of Oceania and he constantly feels like he’s being watched by “BIG BROTHER” twenty-four seven, and he also feels like he has no rights in order to do what he wants to when “Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard” (2-3). Winston has no freedom to say or to do what he wants when he is constantly being watched by “BIG BROTHER”. The society of today can relate to

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This also shows how willing Winston is to sacrifice himself for love, as it can end in both of them getting caught. In addition to this, one of the first times that Winston talks about Julia, he begins to feel the rebellion. “Thus, at one moment Winston’s hatred was not turned against Goldstein at all, but, on the contrary, against Big Brother, the Party, and the Thought Police” (Orwell, 14). Publicly revolting in Oceania is extremely dangerous since there is too many telescreens watching over him. “All that they did was to keep alive in him the belief, or hope, that others besides himself were enemies of the Party” (Orwell, 17).

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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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Big brother is ruining a totalitarian government, which is also a form of socialist government. This style of government has a dictator and has little or no freedom. Winston sees that this government can do nothing but spells out bad news, it also do nothing for human rights. O’brien sees it as a way for big brother and the inner party to flex their power to the people of oceania. Winston understands all of the outcomes that their government has so thats why he is trying to stop it

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After a cautiously planned meeting initiated by Julia, they started to see each other more often in secret. Over time, a romantic relationship started to develop, not solely based on physical and sexual attraction, but also as a result of their similar views centered around their hatred of the Party. Although both characters complement each other in terms of their views of Big Brother as Party members, their values and approaches to this issue fundamentally conflict in terms of morality and ethics, history, and politics. With regards to morality and ethics, Winston and Julia’s judgment and beliefs greatly differ. Winston, characterized as an idealist, deeply suffers from the existent totalitarian authorities and their full control of everything.

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