Winston Smith In 1984 George Orwell

True or false: Winston Smith remains the same throughout George Orwell’s 1984. The answer is false. Change is inevitable, whether it’s for better or for worse. The Party, a name for the government, controls everything the people of Oceania do. Winston doesn’t fully agree with their leadership, and he is faced with two choices. He can remain orthodox, or rebel against them. What Winston doesn’t realize is how dire the consequences may be if he decides on the latter. Winston Smith exemplifies a dynamic character because of the many changes he undergoes.

Winston begins as a reluctant follower of the government. The Party and Big Brother, the government of Oceania and its leader, constantly monitor its citizens through telescreens and microphones.

He expresses his dislike towards the Party several ways. From the beginning, Winston hides his actions from the telescreens; he turns his back to them. Writing in his diary is something he conceals from the telescreens and the Party. He uses it to express the distaste he feels for the government; he commits something called Thought Crime. Thought Crime is an offense in which a person thinks in an unorthodox way, and these thoughts are typically against the Party. The second entry in the diary is this: “...DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER…” (Orwell 18). Winston realizes that there’s something sketchy about the Party; and he begins to act upon these premonitions. He feels only one person believes the same about the Party as him, and that’s O’Brien. O’Brien is an inner Party member that Winston feels drawn to. Years ago, he has a dream about O’Brien, and it intrigues him; Winston trusts him. During the Two Minutes Hate, Winston makes eye contact with O’Brien and feels a connection with him. He thinks O’Brien is on his side. “‘I am with you,’ O’Brien seemed to be saying to him. ‘I know precisely what you are feeling…’”(17) Orwell writes. If anyone were to rebel against the Party, Winston believes it would be O’Brien.
Winston’s small rebellions against the Party later begin to escalate to something more. The dark-haired girl whom he believes is part of the Thought Police slips him a note. The note says, “I love you” (Orwell 108). Their encounter turns into something a little more. Julia, the dark-haired girl, states a date and describes a destination and they meet. Winston and Julia don’t waste any time, and they jump into having sex. The duo doesn’t do this for pleasure or for love, they do it as an act against the Party. Orwell writes, “Their embrace had been a battle, the climax a victory. It was a blow struck against the Party. It was a political act” (126). The Party is against sex (they even have an anti-sex league), so Julia and Winston make love as an act of vindictiveness. What begins as a one-time thing develops into regular rendezvous that takes place in the upstairs of the shop where Winston purchased his diary. She has a different view of rebellion than Winston does, so she commits relatively small deeds, like buying chocolate from the black market and bringing it to their routinely affairs. However, Winston possesses bigger plans. He believes there is an organization against the Party, and he finds it. It is called the Brotherhood, and O’Brien leads it. To test their loyalty, O’Brien interrogates Winston and Julia. They are submissive, and are willing to do almost anything for the sake of rebelling against the Party. O’Brien asks,
“‘You are prepared to give your lives?’
‘Yes.’
‘You are prepared to commit murder?’
‘Yes’” (Orwell 172).
These statements prove their dedication to destroying the Party. Winston and Julia are now willing to give their own lives and take the lives of others for the Brotherhood.
As the novel ends, Winston Smith loves Big Brother and the Party.

The Brotherhood turns out to be a set up, and Winston and Julia get arrested for Thought Crime. At the beginning of the novel, Winson merely thinks against the Party. At this point, he and his partner, Julia, are willing to die and kill for the sake of unorthodoxy. After his arrest, Winston transfers to the Ministry of Love to receive treatment for insanity. His treatment consists of three steps: learning, understanding, and acceptance. Winston must relearn what he knows in a way that pleases the Party. Understanding what O’Brien informs him of is the next step. If the Party says two plus two is five, then Winston must comprehend why it is five. Lastly, Winston must accept this new way of thinking. O’Brien states, “... You must love Big Brother. It is not enough to obey him; you must love him” (Orwell 282). While the last stage occurs, Winston must face his biggest fear and final test: rats. His treatment is successful because he would rather hand off the punishment to Julia, who ends up doing the same. Then and there, he is deemed cured. Winston gets released, and spends a lot of time in a cafe drinking gin. Suddenly, trumpet call sounds. Trumpet calls mean a victory, and the telescreen in the cafe announces the good news. Winston’s heart races, and he doesn’t move, but he thinks about running with the crowds, cheering and celebrating. Winston Smith comes to the realization that his mindset has changed. He thinks of how the treatment is complete, and he could be shot anytime now. “The long-hoped-for bullet was entering his brain” Orwell describes (297). Winston meets his inevitable fate: he loves Big

Brother.
Winston Smith begins as an average citizen. He may not agree with the way the Party leads Oceania, but he finds himself following them anyways. Later, his beliefs alter. He meets with someone in secret, commits Thoughtcrime, and even joins a group that works to bring the Party down. Winston’s mindset and actions develop during the course of the novel. Change has the potential to be good or bad, and the odds were not in Winston’s favor.