In the world of 1984, the country of Oceania is run by a figure known as Big Brother, a dictator type leadership. A man that goes my Winston sees through all of the lies and tries to fight back against this Big Brother and the party. In Orwell’s novel 1984 a so called hero, ‘Winston’ is supposed to be the one person that fights back against the party and Big Brother and even defeat them. George Orwell tried to make us believe that Winston was the saviour, but like every good story there 's always a tragedy. I believe Winston does infact fit this role of hero 's being failures, that the important thing is to have uttered the cry of rebellion that confirms one’s humanity. I say this because of how he ended up loving Big brother, his trigger …show more content…
He broke at the end and ends up loving Big Brother but even though this was due to because of O 'Brien 's torture and mind control, he still failed to fight back against Big Brother and the party and eventually betrayed what he believed.“Which do you wish : to persuade me that you see five, or you really see them? Really to see them”(Orwell 251). This showed that Winston did infact double think, showing how he gave him to O’brians torture and he was slowly breaking down to what he truly believes in. He always knew that this would be the outcome because of all of the diary entries he did, conversations with Julia and his observations of Jones, Aaronson and Rutherford. “Do it to Julia! 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! Julia! Not me! “ (Orwell 286). …show more content…
His first action was when he revolted with Julia, his initial act of sleeping with her was done not out of sexual desire, but the desire to rebel and weaken the government. According to his and Julia 's opinion, doing something for yourself and only yourself was an act of rebellion. Another act of Winston rebelling was the moment Winston’s hatred was not turned against Goldstein at all, but against Big Brother, the Party, and the Thought Police. “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” (Orwell 18). Winston wrote this in his diary several times. This showed his rebellion in the fact that doing this was thought crime, something you would be go to the ministry of love for. Buying a diary and the pen was a sign of rebellion because Winston snuck into the proles to get it. “They always know” (Orwell 18). This showed how Winston knew that he will get caught but continued to do all of these things, breaking the laws, proving that he does infact fit the role of a
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 ...
... due to his unorthodoxy, such as maintaining a secret and promiscuous relationship with Julia, and the political ramifications of the sexual act; and lastly, the deconstruction of his individualism at the hands of the Party, due to its hunger for power over the mind. It is not surprising then, that among the imposing doctrines of the government of Big Brother, the character of Winston Smith was eventually wiped out. In conclusion, a passage from Winston’s diary:
Imagine living under a complete totalitarianism government, where everything is controlled by the government, all political, social and economic activities. The movements by the people in the society will be monitored by telescreens, people who have thoughts against or who are speaking out against the party or government will be prosecuted by the thought police. In George Orwell’s book 1984, the party has multiple methods of how to control the people using big brother to create fear, the telescreens to watch the movement of the people in the society and lastly the thought police to prosecute anyone who is against/speaking out against Big brother and the party. In the book 1984, the author uses the futuristic setting to craft the theme that
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.
Today’s modern world may not be exactly like 1984, but there are some issues that are very similar to it. Some of the biggest issues that is becoming compromised today is the issue of privacy, which in the book 1984 was something that the people did not have much of because of things like telescreens. Not only is our privacy compromised but the government is also being too controlling. Ways today’s privacy is being compromised are through things like game consoles, phones, social media, and drones and not only is our being compromised through these things but the government is also gaining too much control by compromising our privacy.
One reason for Winston's rebellion, and eventual downfall, is his knowledge that the party will ultimately capture and punish him. With constant surveillance of Party members, any sign of disloyalty could lead to an arrest; even a tiny facial twitch. As soon as he writes Down with BB' in his diary, Winston is positive that the Thought police will quickly capture him for committing thought crime. With this wisdom, he allows himself to take unnecessary risks, such as trusting O'Brien and renting the room in Mr. charington's shop to host his secret relationship with Julia. Because he has no doubt that he will be caught no matter what he does, he continues to rebel, and brings his own struggle to an end.
Winston becomes complacent and submissive, “[gin] had become the element he swam in. …No one cared what he did any longer, … Occasionally, … he went… and did a little work, or what was called work” (3.6.101, 102-108). He lives apathetically— a shell of what he once was. He is kept complacent with all the gin that he is served every day, he no longer questions facts fed to him by the Party, like the good citizen he is. Winston is unable to focus on one task or think in a complex manner like he could prior to his torture, “he could never fix his mind on any one subject for more than a few moments at a time” (3.6.93-108). Intelligence, or long strands of cohesive thoughts in Oceania are dangerous to the Party. Since Winston cannot think like before, he also can no longer pick up fallacies in the Party’s information, not that he tries to anymore either. Winston finally experiences true love and loyalty for Big Brother: “the struggle was finished… He loved Big Brother” (3.6.107-108). A citizen that loves Big Brother is a citizen that will never rebel. Love for Big Brother is the final piece that Winston needs to become the perfect Party member, now that he possesses it, he devolves into the perfect
George Orwell, in his novel 1984, depicts the horrifying results of a dictatorship called the Big Brother that controls and watches every aspect of a society on an individual level. Orwell incorporates character development with a smile, as he contrasts the protagonist’s childhood memories of London to a present city where houses resemble chicken houses. This depicts the mass poverty and dystopia London has become under the totalitarian regime of Big Brother also called the Party. At the same time, Orwell develops the character of Winston Smith, illuminating the manipulative effect the oppressive dictatorship has had on his memory, and as a result, his individuality. Orwell also uses metaphors of a sea bottom and monster to depict the culture
Your home alone in your bed, the T.V. playing in the background and sleep has its grip on you. As you feel your eyes start to fall something else has its eyes on you, Big Brother. For the people in 1984 this is how every night ends, and every day begins. You would think being watched everyday would drive one mad but not for this society. They have all been conditioned to think this is a normal way of life, and to question is as bad as thought itself. To grow up and always have eyes watching your every move, ears listening to your every word, and unknown figures lurking in the night. Ready at a moments notice to erase your very existence if you dare question the nature of your reality not brought to you by Big Brother himself. All of this surveillance
What drives fear in people? Maybe it’s a depraved person, death, heights, or the spider on the wall. Either way, everyone is afraid of something. In the book 1984 by George Orwell, the characters fear someone whom they don’t know the existence of called Big Brother. He is the symbol of fear, torture, and persecution in the eyes of the citizens of Oceania. In the following paragraphs, Big Brother’s impact of fear on people’s lives will be discussed. Also, a great leader of Germany by the name of Adolf Hitler will also be gone over.
This could be interpreted as Winston having had all of his individualism expunged and Orwell’s characterisation of Winston perhaps reflects the true capacity and influence the party has on their people, creating a bleak and sadistic tone for the remainder of the novel; this is juxtaposed to the start of the novel where there appears to be slight optimism with the finding of The Brotherhood. Furthermore, after torturing him or ‘curing’ him, he no longer hates Big Brother “We do not merely destroy our enemies, we change them”. The party controls their people and bends them to their own will, reflecting the theme of oppression and totalitarianism. Additionally, Orwell’s Proles are both sub literate and verging on ignorance; the vernacular of the society has been changed where they cannot think of words that will disobey the party as “Newspeak was designed not to extend but to diminish the range of thought”.
Does it matter to be alive or dead when you support the enemy?! Not for winston it doesn't. In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, Winston Smith goes on a journey to find freedom for himself and the citizens of Oceania or from his controlling government. The government have always had more than enough resources and power to make their control overshadow the citizens’ independence and free speech. Winston, at the time, really thought that he could be the voice that encourages people to come together be the change of the history of the government. The government saw what Winston stood for and they feared it so they put him in a torture routine until he truly loved Big Brother. After the process, Winston really ended up loving the big brother which means that he will die sooner than later by being shot or such. Through a vivid direct quotes from credible sources, Winston's faith is explained as a limiting
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
In the beginning, Orwell shows that Winston’s id takes over when he first decides to write in a journal. During his rush of rebellion, Winston’s id unconsciously forces him to write “Down with Big Brother” in his diary. Winston’s suppressed id drives him to act upon his ultimate thought and desire without filtering them through the ego and super ego. Winston’s id for an instant makes him believe that he is outsmarting the Party, however once he realizes what he as done Winston’s ill developed superego begins to kick in and he quickly becomes overwhelmed by the idea that he will be caught. In a Freudian perspective, Winston’s continuous anxiety of getting caught stimulates the id which then further influences him to rebel against Big Brother.