George Orwell’s novel, 1984, written in 1948, features a nightmare visualization into the prospect of a society wholly controlled and monitored the totalitarian Big Brother’s trimming eyes. Life is bleak and dull, as no fun is permitted. Jobs are tedious, since the citizens are forced to labor not only for the ruling party, but also for a leader they have never seen. The state has taken control of all aspects of human life. The whole nation is under dictatorial rule and uninformed of the concepts of freedom of thought, speech, and action. The protagonist, Winston Smith, plays the role of the societal hero against a government that oppresses its citizen; however, a question looms: Is Winston a true “hero”? Regardless of shame or fruitless action, …show more content…
Winston’s attitude towards the oppressors and unwavering bravery entitles him to the label of “hero”. Winston portrays the qualities of a hero through his attitude towards rebellion and by standing for what he views as right.
Even though his journey reveals that he loses the fight against the oppressors, Winston bravely rebels against the Oceanian rule and persists to the end. Winston’s rebellious attitude is evident when he purchases items deemed obsolete, such as a diary, from ordinary shops, and regularly visits the Prole district despite rules clearly prohibiting such actions, "Party members were supposed not to go into ordinary shops" (Orwell 6). Winston demonstrates his disobedient attitude severely when he notes, "...in large, neat capitals DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER" (Orwell 18). He thus riots for independence in a dictatorial state, justifying his merit as a …show more content…
hero. Throughout the novel, Winston continuously displays unmatched bravery. While caught in a dilemma of whether he should continue his pattern of nonconformity, Winston meets Julia, a cunning and fiery ally to Winston’s cause. Together they defy the party with enhanced zeal. When Winston and Julia portray their bravery through the act of sex, they do so as a seal to their dedication towards the rebellion, “...even if it were only once in his whole life. The sexual act, successfully performed, was rebellion" (Orwell 68). The action illustrates how brave Winston is by having an affair with Julia, notwithstanding the possibly fatal consequences. Winston further demonstrates his bravery when he secures a room overhead the antique shop, where he commits additional misconducts that could result in death. For instance, he pauses “to talk with Mr. Charrington for a few minutes on his way upstairs" in a civilization where reliance is unusual (Orwell 150). While in the room, they discuss more deeds of insurgency, and the bravery shown is a hallmark of Winston’s heroism. In a society under a strict totalitarian rule, the odds of a successful overthrow are slim.
Winston is committed to enduring until the end, and his eventual objective is to die while despising “them”. He is aware of his impending defeat, “The first step had been a secret, involuntary thought, the second had been the opening of the diary. He had moved from thoughts to words, and now from words to actions. The last step was something that would happen in the Ministry of Love" (Orwell 159). Nevertheless, he is unrelenting and moves against the party by withstanding both mental and physical torment, "...questioners now were not ruffians in black uniforms but Party intellectuals, little rotund men with quick movements and flashing spectacles" (Orwell 241). Although O'Brien eventually tortures Winston, in Room 101, into accepting Big Brother and betraying Julia, Winston’s spirit remains, "...he knew that he was in the wrong, but he preferred to be in the wrong" (Orwell 229). Resisting even after the strenuous trials inflicted upon him, shows the colossal endurance and dedication Winston
possesses. A hero’s journey does not always mold to a confining archetype, and Orwell perfectly captures that idea of an unorthodox hero in Winston. Winston is aware that he may not possibly defeat the Party, but still goes ahead to rebels and detests Big Brother. He is brave and endures pain to the very end. There is unrelinquished perseverance inside Winston, even after he has lost; therefore, according to 1984, Winston is a hero to be emulated due to his devotion as a nonconformist, his bravery for acting against the Party, and his excellent gesture towards what is just.
Returning to his diary, Winston then expresses his emotions against the Party, the Thought Police and Big Brother himself; he questions the unnecessary acts by the Party and continuously asserts rebellion. Winston soon realized he had committed the crime of having an individual thought, “thoughtcrime.” The chapter ends with a knock on Winston’s door. Significant Quotes “From where Winston stood it was just possible to read, picked out on its white face in elegant lettering, the three slogans of the Party: WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH” (Orwell 7). “But there was a fraction of a second when their eyes met, and for as long as it took to happen Winston knew— yes, he knew!
In “1984,” Orwell uses Winston to portray a single individual’s attempt to take action against a powerful government, culminating in his failure and subjugation. His individual efforts failed tremendously due to the overarching power of the Party to control every aspect of social life in Oceania. Orwell uses Winston’s deeply seated hatred of the Party to portray his views on power and social change. Winston’s actions show that even in the direst of situations ...
Winston is arrested and taken to The Ministry of Love, another of the main government agencies. Here he is tortured physically by starvation and electrocution under the watch of The Party. He is manipulated physiologically by being conditioned to avoid torture by answering questions about his loyalty to The Party.
George Orwell creates a dark, depressing and pessimistic world where the government has full control over the masses in the novel 1984. The protagonist, Winston, is low-level Party member who has grown to resent the society that he lives in. Orwell portrays him as a individual that begins to lose his sanity due to the constrictions of society. There are only two possible outcomes, either he becomes more effectively assimilated or he brings about the change he desires. Winston starts a journey towards his own self-destruction. His first defiant act is the diary where he writes “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER.” But he goes further by having an affair with Julia, another party member, renting a room over Mr. Carrington’s antique shop where Winston conducts this affair with Julia, and by following O’Brien who claims to have connections with the Brotherhood, the anti-Party movement led my Emmanuel Goldstein. Winston and Julia are both eventually arrested by the Thought Police when Mr. Carrington turns out to be a undercover officer. They both eventually betray each other when O’Brien conducts torture upon them at the Ministry of Love. Orwell conveys the limitations of the individual when it comes to doing something monumental like overthrowing the established hierarchy which is seen through the futility of Winston Smith’s actions that end with his failure instead of the end of Big Brother. Winston’s goal of liberating himself turns out to be hopeless when the people he trusted end up betraying him and how he was arbitrarily manipulated. It can be perceived that Winston was in fact concerned more about his own sanity and physical well-being because he gives into Big Brother after he is tortured and becomes content to live in the society he hated so much. Winston witnesses the weakness within the prole community because of their inability to understand the Party’s workings but he himself embodies weakness by sabotaging himself by associating with all the wrong people and by simply falling into the arms of Big Brother. Orwell created a world where there is no use but to assimilate from Winston’s perspective making his struggle utterly hopeless.
Authors often use their works as a way to express their own opinions and ideologies. However, it is the skill of the author that determines whether these ideas are combined with the plot seamlessly, making a creative transition of ideas from the author’s mind, to the reader’s. There is no doubt that George Orwell is a masterful writer, and one of his most popular works, 1984, clearly expresses his negative views of the Totalitarian government. A common theme in the dystopian society in 1984 is betrayal: The Party is very intolerant towards any form of disloyalty, and anyone who plots against them or Big Brother will eventually either betray their own mind and accept Big Brother as their leader, or be betrayed and revealed to The Party by one of their so-called comrades. Overall, Orwell is using this constant theme of betrayal to show how alone and alienated the protagonist (Winston Smith) is in his quest against Totalitarianism, thus showing how flawed and hopeless the political system is.
In the novel 1984, Orwell produced a social critique on totalitarianism and a future dystopia that made the world pause and think about our past, present and future. When reading this novel we all must take the time to think of the possibility that Orwell's world could come to pass. Orwell presents the concepts of power, marginalization, and resistance through physical, psychological, sexual and political control of the people of Oceania. The reader experiences the emotional ride through the eyes of Winston Smith, who was born into the oppressive life under the rule of Ingsoc. Readers are encouraged through Winston to adopt a negative opinion on the idea of communist rule and the inherent dangers of totalitarianism. The psychological manipulation and physical control are explored through Winston's journey, and with Winston's resistance and ultimate downfall, the reader is able to fully appreciate O'Briens reasoning, "Power is not a means, it is an end."
In the novel 1984, George Orwell predicts the world’s future, when human rights, such as freedom of speech, do not exist anymore. Everyone has to obey the government. The government controls its citizens’ lives. No one speaks up against the government yet because they do not even have a chance to make up a thought about it. The government dominates the citizens’ thoughts by using technologies and the thought polices to make sure no one will have any thoughts, that is against the government. George Orwell wrote:“Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows,” (Orwell.2.7.69) the government tries to control Winston knowledge and change it to fit into the purpose of the Party. To Winston, O’Brien said: “Whatever the Party holds to be truth is truth. It is impossible to see reality except by looking through the eyes of the Party.” (Orwell.3.2.205). As a citizen, no one get to look at or tal...
In 1984, George Orwell presents an overly controlled society that is run by Big Brother. The protagonist, Winston, attempts to “stay human” in the face of a dehumanizing, totalitarian regime. Big Brother possesses so much control over these people that even the most natural thoughts such as love and sex are considered taboo and are punishable. Big Brother has taken this society and turned each individual against one another. Parents distrust their own offspring, husband and wife turn on one another, and some people turn on their own selves entirely. The people of Oceania become brainwashed by Big Brother. Punishment for any uprising rebellions is punishable harshly.
At this moment, Winston feels powerless against the seemingly unstoppable Party, knowing that his life is at the mercy of O’Brien. Thus, Winston’s already weak willpower continues to wither away, rendering him more vulnerable to further reformation. The final procedure in completely transforming Winston’s personality occurs in the dreaded Room 101. To achieve his ultimate goal of breaking Winston’s loyalty towards Julia, O’Brien exploits Winston’s deepest fear of rats in a rather gruesome manner.
While in the party, Winston is subject to extreme torture. He is stretched and questioned and shocked and beat until finally, he is taken to the infamous Room 101. It is here where his deepest tangible fear, rats, are laid upon him and at which point he finally breaks down and betrays Julia. In that moment, he thinks to himself that he “must interpose another human being, the body of another human being, between himself and the rats” (286). At the moment of the rats, it is assumed that the pain is too much for his body to handle and so he simply exerts a defense mechanism which he knows will work to save himself, by screaming out “do it to Julia!” (286). Perhaps, however, he had been waiting to betray Julia. Winston was a relatively smart man, who was aware enough to know that there was no way of escaping The Ministry of Love as the same man he was when he entered. He knew he would have to surrender his individuality to The Party. Julia was in his mind, the most important thing, and the one thing he had promised not to betray. It doesn’t matter how true their love was, he had glorified their relationship into something that could only be dishonored in an unfathomably extreme circumstance. The rats were, to him, extreme enough to justify the betrayal that would grant him serenity. At the end of the book, Winston gave his body over to The Party, in full willingness and
Throughout the novel, Winston’s sole belief was to be apart from the rest of the Party’s ideals. However, his humanity fails him as he exclaims to O’Brien, “Do it to Julia!... Not me! Julia! I don’t care what you do to her. Tear her face off, strip her to the bones. Not me! Not me!” (286). This is the moment where O’Brien breaks Winston. Winston becomes a prisoner in his own mind by not having the freedom that he expressed earlier in the novel by knowing “that two plus two make four” (81). His freedom is so far from his mind, that he does not know the meaning of the word anymore. Winston also has a tendency to “[push a] picture out of his mind…a false memory” as he calls it which “did not matter so long as one knew them for what they were” (296). He, in fact, no longer knows what a real memory is. The Party’s manipulation of Winston finally succeeds manipulating Winston by limiting the way he perceives memories. Although, Winston thinks “everything [is] all right, the struggle [is] finished, and he wins the victory over himself” only knowing that “he [loves] Big Brother” (298). The simplicity in this ending makes it seem that Winston is at peace; the man versus self-struggle is over. He does not have to constantly think or move in secret. In a way, this gives him a sort of ‘freedom’ that he could not have with his own
However, part three further shows the consequences against him for his rebellious actions. Winston is confined to a solitary cell to await torture, and he even contemplates suicide to avoid his inevitable, painful torture. Winston is continually and savagely tortured both physically and psychologically. Following this prolonged torturing, Winston is forced to betray Julia to save himself. Following this, Winston is reconditioned to put his loyalty back to the party. This section of the novel shows readers how rebellion truly affects the mind, and how rash action can provoke a swift judgment by a higher
In the case of Winston, he drives himself to rebellion. He is considered a rebel due to his lack of commitment to the party and has a relationship outside of marriage with Julia; he is not fully involved in the idea of Newspeak and has rebellious thinking that is against the party and Big Brother. He is not a firm believer in the wants of the party and how Oceania is dictated so, he begins with his first written rebellious thoughts, “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” (20). This is the greatest treason since Big Brother is considered the God. Once he is captured and placed in torture, he pushes himself to believe that he is not deteriorating, he is not betraying Julia, he is still human, “ Do you consider yourself a man? Yes.” (282). After a continuous struggle Winston is able to carry out his rebellion. However, when room 101 is put into a factor of torture in Winston’s world, he gives up hope in a change occurring in the way Oceania is governed. Winston no longer cares for Julia or rebelling against the Party. He lives out his days drunk and lenient to what occurs around him, moving with the constant flow, “Through the midday hours he sat with glazed face, the bottle handy, listening to the telescreen” (307). The final transformation was completed when he began to love Big Brother. He had restored all the rebellion within him and thought his final thought, “I love Big Brother” (311). Winston
Orwell displays human tendencies of initial compliance throughout his novel as the reader discovers early on within the novel that the protagonist, Winston, internally rejects the culture and societal expectations forced upon him. Winston concludes that “Orthodoxy means not thinking”, leading the reader to expect his actions to align with his way of thought. However, within the story’s exposition the protagonist’s actions show little to no indication of his true thoughts regarding The Party. Winston’s justification for the contrast between thought and action was that “…to control your face, to do what everyone else was doing, was an instinctive reaction” despite however adamantly one may have been opposed to whatever was taking place (Orwell
In the words of Bob Dylan, “No one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky.” It is ironic how this saying profoundly explains the political satire of the novel, 1984. Living under a tyrannical system, no one is safe in the novel, including 39-year-old, Winston Smith who lives in a society where he is taken away of all his rights and freedoms, in which even a tiny facial gesture can be deemed a detriment to society. 1984, written by George Orwell, depicts a dystopian future, where freedom and individuality are lost to totalitarian government systems like “Big Brother” and “The Party” who brainwash society through inhuman tactics of psychological and physical control forcing its citizens into submission. Therefore, in a society where a totalitarian government exists, freedom is restricted through technology, psychology and history, and resistance is futile.