Winston's Dystopian Culture

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

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