Examples Of Heroism In 1984 By George Orwell

In the novel, 1984 by George Orwell, he describes a hero as someone who is willing to take risks; putting their life in danger. Also a hero is to conform to the true morals in overcoming the basis of inhumane actions to bring peace of everyone else. A hero should be actions and thoughts should also be selfless as well. By analyzing Winston’s character though the entire novel, by George Orwell’s description, and what I consider a hero to be as well, Winston does not meet what I would consider to be a hero.

Firstly, to start things off, lets address that in a dystopian state is not much of a clear display of what, “True Heroism” is. In a community where the extent of every soul is merely greeting the fellow citizen, even then limited to

the ‘greetings comrade”, there are just the rebels. Winston may not be a hero in my eyes, but I he would be more of a rebel. What some would call “heroic acts” throughout the novel, I see the complete opposite; I see inner rebellions, instead of rebelling against the government in hopes of bettering the social society.
Winston is first seen rebelling against the Party was when he wrote the journal entry in secret. His entry consisted of the phrase, “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER.” It was after he finished this writing this entry, that he knew the “Thought Police” would try to condemn him; this is because Winston began to recklessly engage in law-violating action, that began putting him at even greater risks; these are, yet again, no actions of a hero.
His rebellion takes another turn to further his owns desires, not other like a real hero would have. Winston had a primary goal, to sabotage the government when he is first revolted by Julia. When Winston took action to sleep with her, it was not out sexual desire, or lust; it was out of desire to rebel and weaken the government from the inside out. In both Winston and Julia’s opinion the act of rebellion was to do something for yourself, and only something beneficial to yourself. This was the core purpose to revolt because it went against the party’s only reason for their existence; control and also power.
George Orwell makes Winston a main character in the book, even though his is a nobody, and on the brink of being scum.

Winston is not a leader of an opposition party, nor is he a leader of a revolutionary ring. He also is not an honorable official of any system. In reality, Winston is nothing but a nobody worker. Winston’s actions that he decides to take are also not revolutionary. They are not memorable. They are nothing but wasted energy. All of this contributes to how Un-incredible Winston is as a person. Thought-crime does not demand death, because they are considered death. Thought-Crime is the essential crime involves all of the other into itself. Since, this is the essence of the Winston's every small revolutionary action as he thinks.

Winston is unable to “turn off” his brain. In the book it is demonstrated when O’Brien advises Winston at the end that he must not say that one two and another two make five but actually believe it, Winston cannot grasp that concept at all. In Winston’s mind, he feels as if it is five, and even acts as if he knows it is; however, he cannot possibly believe it because his brains fails to work as a human’s should in such a

way.
Winston, however, does not prove this just once; but throughout the book. Examples of his revolutionary acts would be when Winston was Julia’s lover, Recognizing the beauty in the proletarian woman's song, and even buying the paper weight. These are just a few examples, but Winston has many more sequences of events that support this.
These actions may give Winston hope, but we see it as nothing more than small, and useless deeds.

His actions are not helpful, and won’t aid in overthrowing the government; it is only beneficial for his own freedom…and his own peace of mind. How most heroes are charismatic, Winston, again lacks this essential quality; he is far from a person, who would rally individuals together for a cause that could benefit others; it is simply too selfless for him to do. Even when having a gut feeling about something that has is going wrong he doesn't possess any of the necessary mental capacity nor emotion to fight; until Julia comes into his life. He still becomes immature and betrays her; he cannot handle any type of pressure and defies authority; however, he is punished, then is conditioned to “love” Big Brother in the

end.
Winston has absolutely no admirable traits, he does however arouse sadness for how pitiful he is; his venerability is what makes him so human. At first both Julia and Winston believed that their minds and hearts were not accessible; O’Brien negates this and shows them that at the end of the novel. Once again everything Winston had done is overruled. Not only does it never have any material consequence, but he loses the one thing he had kept safe throughout, his freedom of the mind and his freedom of feelings.
Another reason that Winston is not considered a hero in my opinion is because, he never showed that he wanted to be a hero; he collaborated with where he lived, through the means of his job. This is evident from the beginning of the novel, but becomes more prominent as it goes on. O’Brien by the end of the novel breaks Winston using his torture and mind control, he always knew this would be the outcome from his diary entries, the conversations with Julia and his observations of Jones, Aaronsen and the Rutherford at the Chestnut Tree Cafe. Breaking his only promise to Julia, not to betray her, was unavoidable. And the brief encounter with Julia when he is released, she betrayed him too.
Winston sneaks around instead of engaging in the open revolt since this is the only way any dissent and the subversion can take place, the reactions of the people during the ten minutes hate, the tele-screens, the hidden microphones, the militarized society and brainwashed spying then neighbors giving you up at the first opportunity to save themselves make open revolt instantly futile rather than the eventually futile, Winston took this approach not out of the cowardice because it had the potential to subvert the cause of the party more effectively and because it was the only way.