In George Orwell’s classic novel, 1984, Winston Smith is a secret rebel, fighting the control of Big Brother, who represents the overpowered, all knowing government. Winston is fighting more than his government though, he is fighting his entire society. Big Brother’s power comes from his ability to manipulate the masses, so influentially, that the masses work towards the oppression of themselves. In questioning Big Brother, Winston is questioning the entirety of known society. Winston meets others that share his views on society and expand Winston’s field of thought, leading him to make conclusions about his society; conclusions that lead to direct rebellion against Big Brother.
Each novel and the film has protagonist that fools society is completely wrong and is not right. With everything Winston went through he believes and knows society was wrong. “He writes down big brother.” (George Orwell #6) Winston does not like his society and feels that big brother is wrong and that citizens should not have to be watched the way they are.
Many a literary critic claims that the strongest aspect of the book 1984 by George Orwell is its plot. Indeed, there is some merit in this conclusion, as the entire purpose of Orwell’s writing of this book was not to create a literary classic, but to warn the public about the dangers of communism if it got out of hand, and what better way to do this than to write an engaging plot? Others may claim that 1984’s greatest strength is in its character development. This aspect, too, is quite strong in the book, as not only are the minor characters effected in serving the dystopian theme, but the major characters are believable and very human in their failings. Winston’s transformation from an oppressed office worker to revolutionary and finally
Rebellion is a way for people to express their dissatisfaction with their government. Throughout George Orwell’s 1984, Winston attempts to start a rebellion against the Party– an action that mirrors that of the American Revolution through the driving factors, political conditions, and steps towards success. Oftentimes, extreme and controlling governments are the ones to experience rebellion. In 1984, Winston lives in the oppressive Oceania. The government, the Party, manages everything from portioning food rations to eliminating independent thoughts.
And even if we chose to let you live out the natural term of your life, still you would never escape from us. ”(Orwell 256). Winston’s fate was completely in control of Big Brother or in other words Winston is defeated and unsuccessful. An example of Winston loving Big Brother is, “But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself.
Winston on the other hand is older and much more mature, and he wishes to effect change for all. Winston does not want to slap Big Brother but rather wants to see him dead. Due to his old age he has experienced what it was like before Big Brother and wants it to go back to how it used to
(Orwell 108). Winston thought for sure that the Party was monitoring him and that he would get caught and taken away. Winston was always worried about being punished for thought crime. Mr. Parsons, whose children were spies and informed on their father, was taken away because of what he had said about The Party, “Down with big brother!’ Yes, I said that”’
Big Brother was never one to be questioned, and he made the consequences known to anyone who did so. Winston clearly expressed his hatred for Big Brother and all of the restrictions placed on members of society in the beginning of the book. Despite this, he constantly hid his facial expressions and thoughts from the telescreens, in great fear that the thought police would catch him. Contrary to that outward conformity, he was always inwardly questioning Big Brother. He directly broke the law by writing in a journal, especially since
Winston Smith was one of the few people who dared to attempt to rebel against the government. His need for companionship “ 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” (page 28), and hatred for the Party “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” (page 20), drove him to commit his first act of rebellion, writing in his journal.
Basically everywhere the character Winston looks, there’s always a slogan saying “Big Brother is watching you”. Big Brother is the leader of 1984’s totalitarian society. By Winston seeing “Big Brother is watching you” everywhere he looks, it shows a common threat to him that he is always being watched and that he has little to no natural rights because of the government. If he were to break the rules, serious consequences would happen to him if he were
At the beginning of the novel, Winston made it prominent that he dissented Big Brother and his party’s idea. He wrote in his diary, in Book 1 Chapter 1, “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER…” (Orwell 18). This shows that Winston dissented his country’s government and was willing to rebel for he knew deep inside that
The novel 1984, by George Orwell, is set during a dystopian future in which totalitarian governments have taken complete control over Oceania. In this novel, the main character, Winston Smith, is the archetypal everyman who attempt to change the societies in which they are forced to live in. He does this by grabbing onto any threads of hope as tightly as he can. In this novel, the theme of finding hope in impossibly bleak situations is shown through the possibility of an uprising of the common people and the underground resistance groups, relationships and love overcoming the oppressive restrictions set by the government.
After being tortured and facing his fear in Room 101, Winston was finally broken and now loves the party’s beliefs and Big Brother. Now we do not see the Winston who was against the party, we see him supporting the party because of manipulation through torture. A stylistic device that is used is pathos. Pathos is shown when Winston expresses his happiness that he was finally broken and free to love Big Brother but the reader feels sorry for Winston for getting extremely tortured and manipulated to support the oppressive party and dictator. This relates back to the thesis as George Orwell is predicting how people will get arrested and be manipulated and tortured to make society follow the government’s beliefs.
In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, the main theme is of conformity to the wants of society and the government. Themes of dehumanization of our species, as well as the danger of a totalitaristic state are repeatedly expressed. Orwell demonstrates this theme by using setting and characters in the novel. The setting helps to convey the theme because of the world and kind of city that the main character lives in. Winston’s every move is watched and controlled by the governmental figurehead known as “big brother”.
When Faced With Tyranny When one is faced with an oppressive government, they can lose control over all aspects of their daily lives. It is also easy for one to lose authority over themselves when faced with a stronger force. What might one’s response be when they possess little to no control over their lives? Many people may blindly follow society, but others might choose to disobey the rules. In 1984 by George Orwell, Winston Smith’s defiant nature and curious attitude display that one may turn to rebellion when faced with tyranny.
