Heroes in dystopian literature differ from conventional heroes, using undesirable means to justify the end or going through tragedy. In George Orwell’s 1984 novel, Winston Smith is the protagonist of this novel and is consistently surrounded by an atmosphere of apprehension and oppression. Where the totalitarian government of the Party, ruled by big brother, has constant surveillance and control over everyone, affecting people’s actions and interactions with one another. This environment influences characters actions and disposition which in psychoanalytic theory, characters are motivated by their conscious and unconscious desires, fears, memories and dreams which in turn affect their behaviors. In the dystopian novel 1984 by George Orwell, …show more content…
Throughout the hero's journey, heroes develop positive traits such as bravery, determination and moral integrity, but Winston Smith continually expresses fear as a morally gray character. As true to a hero fulfilling the initial stages of the hero’s quest, Winston Smith actively tries to resist the antagonist, the authoritative control of the Party and acts in the presence of fear showing courage, “he had been ready for this moment, and it had never crossed his mind that anything would be needed except courage”(Orwell 7-8). Though miniscule, Winston’s act of documenting his thoughts, is a form of resistance which plays into his ideological unorthodoxy and nonconformity, having his own thoughts and manifesting them in a physical form. Orwell uses Winston’s remark to Julia that “I hate purity, I hate goodness”. I don’t want any virtue to exist anywhere. I want everyone to be corrupt to the bones” to show Winston’s conscious flawed sense of morality based on his superego based on his negative interactions with followers of the Party’s standards in the past (Orwell …show more content…
According to Malcolm R. Thorp, “Winston begins his rebellion with the thought that the state might control almost everything, but man still has a few cubic centimeters inside his skull that are his own” because of the atmosphere of fear and imminent danger, Winston’s unconscious motivations have aggression towards others stemming from his wish to be free with the aggressiveness from his subconscious death drive of Thanatos. In the face of immediate danger, Winston would rather place another in his position, including Julia, his love interest in rebellion against the government. “in the whole world there was just one person to whom he could transfer his punishment— one body that could thrust between himself and the rats” these selfish actions would not be undertaken by the typical hero archetype which would react in bravery (Orwell
In 1984, Winston was a character who showed many qualities but the strongest qualities that were shown were curiosity, being daring and rebellious. Daring qualities were shown by Winston when he wrote in his diary. Writing in his diary was daring because he was committing thoughtcrime, which could result in punishment. Winston was curious when O’Brien shut off the telescreen. His curiosity led him to ask O’Brien about why he could shut the telescreen off. Rebellious qualities were shown by Winston when he wanted to join the Brotherhood. Even though the strongest qualities Winston showed were curiosity, being daring, and rebellious; Winston still had many different qualities.
According to the government of Oceania, most acts Winston engages in represent signs of rebellion. For example, within the first few pages of the novel, Winston wrote down the words “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” several times in his journal (Orwell 16). “Big Brother” stands as the leader of the Party who supposedly watches over everybody. When Winston writes down the phrase “down with big brother,” he participates in ThoughtCrime. Committing ThoughtCrime requires having thoughts displaying hate or defiance towards the Party. Participating in ThoughtCrime always leads to death, so someone had seen Winston’s journal, then he would immediately go The Ministry of Love, a place of torture, horror, and death. Furthermore, Winston also rebels against the party by becoming lovers with Julia and secretly meeting up with her multiple times. In this society, no two people can love, show affection, or have pleasurable sex without major consequences. Winston breaks both of these rules with Julia because he loves destroying the “pureness”and “virtue” of the Party. He strives for corruption, and says he will do “anything to rot, weaken, [and] to undermine” the Party (Orwell 111). He enjoys “the animal instinct, the simple undifferentiated desire,” and thinks the force of desire he feels will “tear the Party to pieces” (Orwell 111). Due to his beliefs, he repeats his actions over and
The book, 1984 by George Orwell, is about the external conflict between Winston Smith and Big Brother; and the internal conflict between the two ideas, democracy and totalitarianism. Orwell wrote the novel to show society what it could become if things kept getting worse: he sensed of the expansion of communism when he wrote the novel. The conflict between democracy and totalitarianism at the year of 1945 created two characters, Winston Smith and Big Brother, in orwell's mind. Big Brother is the embodiment of all the ideals of the totalitarian party. In contrast to Big Brother, Winston Smith keeps the idea of democracy emphasizes freedom, he has to hide his own thought because the Big Brother's party will punish him by death if the party finds it out. George orwell criticizes of Big Brother's society by describing it as a dark and a gloomy place. It warns that people might believe that everyone must become slaves to the government in order to have an orderly society, but at the expense of the freedom of the people.
The novel 1984, written by George Orwell in 1949, details the life of a one Winston Smith and his constant, life long battle to defeat Big Brother. This dystopian vision of the future serves as a reminder to the reader that anything can happen, but it is up to humanity to shape what kind of future is wanted in the end. Although Orwell’s novel is rather convincing to the people of this time, it serves only as a warning to one of many outcomes that the world could face. This book was Orwell’s idea of how life could have ended up; had people not realized that there is always a way to change what we do not like in life. Through the author’s many literary techniques, he was able to weave in meaning and importance to simple everyday objects
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.
George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 follows the psychological journey of main character Winston. Winston lives in a utopian society called Oceania. There, the citizens are constantly monitored by their government coined “Big Brother” or “The Party”. In Oceania, there is no form of individuality or privacy. Citizens are also coerced to believe everything and anything the government tells them, even if it contradicts reality and memory. The goal of Big Brother is to destroy individual loyalties and make its citizenry only loyal to the government. In Orwell's novel 1984, he uses Winston's psychological journey to stress the dangers of individuality in a totalitarian regime because it can result in death. Winston’s overwhelming desire to rebel
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."
Winston Smith, the protagonist of the novel by George Orwell entitled, 1984, is that of modern tragic hero, notably influenced by the character, O’Brien, according to Arthur Miller and his essay entitled, Tragedy and the Common Man. Winston differentiates himself from the rest of society early on in the novel. We see this through his distaste towards the love and admiration the people of Oceania have towards Big Brother. He automatically feels something towards O’Brien as Winston sees O’Brien as a man, like himself, who secretly opposes the government in an act of rebellion, despite not taking action to instill this feeling. We see recurring dreams of his mother and sister where Winston is at fault for the death or disappearance of his family members. He feels guilt
Dystopian novels are written to reflect the fears a population has about its government, and they are successful because they capture that fright and display what can happen if it is ignored. George Orwell wrote 1984 with this fear of government in mind and used it to portray his opinion of the current government discretely. Along with fear, dystopian novels have many other elements that make them characteristic of their genre. The dystopian society in Orwell’s novel became an achievement because he utilized a large devastated city, a shattered family system, life in fear, a theme of oppression, and a lone hero. Orwell’s novel begins with a horrid description of the living conditions of his main character, Winston.
Brendan Woods Mrs. Mischley AP Literature & Composition 26 March 2024 Essay 3 Rewrite In George Orwell’s novel, “1984”, the character Winston Smith experiences a pivotal and complex judgment showing how the fearful yet freedom-yearning emotions drive Winston to make resistant decisions against the Party. Winston’s overall judgment leads to his drive to defy the rules enforced by fear in the community. This is a testament to the inner conflict of whether or not Winston truly wants to defy the party, as he will potentially be sacrificing his freedom in order to gain his freedom. Winston also is persistent in his effort to regain his humanity that he thinks has been stripped of the rule of the party.
A tragic hero can be described as a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is
Literary Analysis Essay Ben Gettings Alexander Rowan 29 April 2024 Protagonists in Dystopian novels often display a similar set of character traits that define who they are. The novel 1984, by George Orwell, portrays a dystopian society led by a totalitarian government that is willing to do anything necessary to keep their power. The entire population is separated into three different classes, and which class you're in determines how you live your entire life. In this society there is a man named Winston Smith who belongs to the middle class. Winston knows there is something wrong with his society and the rebels physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Orwell’s warning is exemplified through the way in which Winston forfeits his last feelings of rebellion as he relinquishes his love for Julia, transforming him into an archetypal
The location of the hero is London but not as we know it. It’s changed
The social structure of George Orwell’s 1984 is based on Freud’s map of the mind and the struggles between the id, the ego and the super ego. The minds of these individuals living in this society are trained to think a certain way. Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis can be applied to Orwell’s 1984. Using Freud’s psychoanalytic approach, 1984’s main character Winston Smith is portrayed as the one who goes against the ideas of the Party. In a Freudian point of view, Winston’s character represents a mind where the id is the driving force and where the ego and superego are ill developed in the views of the Party. Freud describes the psychoanalytic process as something that is normally used to treat patients with metal disorders, and in the eyes of the party, Winston is seen as one that has a mental disorder. The procedure that Winston undergoes directly parallels Freud’s psychoanalytic process.