Examples Of Heroism In 1984 By George Orwell

Imagine being completely powerless in a dystopian society and watched twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. In the novel, 1984 by George Orwell, Winston Smith is the protagonist who represents all oppressed citizens of Oceania but as the novel closes, Winston fails to make a change and instead surrenders to the overwhelming love he has for Big Brother. According to Orwell, heroism is defined by ordinary people doing whatever they can to change social systems that do not respect human decency, even with the knowledge that they cannot possibly succeed. Based on Orwell’s theory, Winston does not portray a hero. Through the changes in Winston Smith, Orwell depicts his message of manipulation and control that the Party has over its citizens.

In the beginning of the novel, Winston Smith is a lonely and an observant intellect. He resents the Party for its oppression towards its citizens. Mentally, he is aware of the Party’s tyranny but he continues to follow the demands in fear of being seized by the Thought Police. “He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the monster. He was alone. The past was dead, the future was unimaginable. What certainty had he that a single human creature now living was on his side? And what way of knowing that the dominion of the Party would not endure forever?” (Orwell 26). In order to express his thoughts freely without being in the view of the telescreen and getting caught, he wrote in a diary in the alcove of his apartment. He knows that writing in a diary is an act of thought crime, therefore he believes that he will eventually be a dead man. Winston often thinks thoughts that contradict the Party’s claims, yet he disregards those thoughts because he knows that with the lack of evidence, they are pointless. At first, he suspects the brunette coworker of being a Thought Police. Winston becomes paranoid to the point of contemplating whether or not to murder the brunette but later he realizes that she is just infatuated with him. The plot thickens as Winston and Julia kindle a relationship together.
Towards the end of the storyline, Winston makes risky choices that lead to his down fall in order to fulfill a secret relationship with Julia. He rents the room above Mr. Charrington’s second hand shop for private times with Julia. Winston, fully aware of his and Julia’s inevitable death due to their criminal affair, continues meeting her multiple times throughout the course of months. Furthermore, Winston excitedly accepts O’Brien’s invite to his home, knowing that it will lead him to torture and death. Both he and Julia recognize that their relationship will not end happily and agree to not betray one another. Consequently, they are caught and taken to the Ministry of Love. Winston is disappointed when he finds out that O’Brien is loyal to the Party and has set him up for arrest. Worse, he realizes that he knew, somehow, all along that O’Brien would betray him, yet he ignored his instincts and trusted O’Brien “You know this, Winston,’ said O’Brien. ‘Don’t deceive yourself. You did know it—you have always known it.’ Yes, he saw now, he had always known it” (Orwell 239). According to O’Brien, Julia broke quickly under torture and betrayed Winston without delay, in contrast with Winston, who resisted O’Brien’s efforts to force his surrender. This exemplifies the control the Party has over its people and the naïvetés in Winston for his willingness to believe that Julia would truly keep her promise to not betray him. Winston is then tortured using torture machines and ferocious rats to the point of complete brain wash and manipulation. By the end of the novel, Winston is a changed man. He cries as his love for Big Brother overwhelms him. The protagonist no longer trusts his own memories, instead he betrays his mother and himself by annihilating memories of what had once been his life. Winston feels joy over the great victory he has won over himself.
By Orwell’s definition, Winston does not represent a hero.

Although Winston is an ordinary man rebelling against the social system, his only motives throughout the story are purely selfish. He is not aiming to change the social system for the respect of human decency because he does not even consider himself powerful enough to take a stand against the totalitarian government. Instead he believes that only the proles have the power to overthrow the Party “If there is hope,’ wrote Winston, ‘it lies in the proles” (Orwell 69). Winston’s only goal is to pursue a relationship with Julia. Throughout the plot, Winston constantly displays naïveté, his willingness to believe what he wants to be true. He is conscious that his actions will lead him to trouble, yet he continues to follow through with them. In spite of the fact that he has survived physically, his personality, the memories, and experiences that made him who he was, have been burned away. Now he is a “cell” in the body of the Party. Therefore, Winston Smith is not a character that readers can admire and emulate. Through the changes in Winston, Orwell depicts that rebellion in a dystopian society only leads to a downfall of total manipulation and brain wash. The events in the novel relate to Orwell’s central message because they exemplify that people driven by fear can be manipulated into a state of complete obedience by a totalitarian

government.
Winston Smith portrays the vulnerability of the citizens and the power the Party has over them. He was unsuccessful in making a change in the social system because his fear and powerlessness did not allow him to act in ways that a hero would. Winston’s naïve actions lead to his inevitable arrest and manipulation.