ipl-logo

The Role Of Winston In George Orwell's 1984

1374 Words6 Pages

In life, perception and reality rarely parallel; similarly, this idea is true for Winston in George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984. Winston 's unyielding beliefs that a rebellion - due to Big Brother’s “ all seeing manifestation” (“1984” 15) - is crucial is fostered by two men Winston believed to be trustworthy: O’Brien and Charrington. However, in the end they betray him as they expose Winston as a traitor to the Party and Big Brother. From the beginning of the literary work, Winston opposes Big Brother and is in favor of a rebellion. Winston strongly feels that “if there is any hope, it lies in the proles” (Orwell 69). Within the pages of his diary, “Winston writes... that if there is hope, it lies in this 85% of Oceania’s population” ( “1984” 15). Winston believes the people are living a “fearful li[fe]” (“1984” 15) with strict, rigid rules as they live in a homogenous population. Furthermore, Winston is the only one who realizes the …show more content…

Charrington noticed Winston was highly fascinated with the illegal artifacts; therefore, Charrington offered Winston a “room upstairs [he] might want to take a look at” (Orwell 96). In result, Winston somehow feels connected to Charrington. Over the course of several weeks, Charrington broadens Winston’s history of the past with nursery rhymes and historical keepsakes as Charrington teaches winston how to keep the past alive. The Party and Big Brother attempt to rewrite history, so the idea of keeping the past alive intrigues Winston and fosters his ideology. Winston frequences the room Charrington provides for him as he knows that it is a private place with no telescreen, an “ instrument of … totalized surveillance” (“1984” 17). Until, he realizes that he has been tricked and a telescreen “was behind the picture” (Orwell 221) the entire time. Charrington’s loyalties were with the thought police; consequently, Charrington turns Winston over to the

Show More
Related

  • 1984 Dialectical Journal Analysis

    965 Words  | 4 Pages

    Yash Patel Mrs. Choi AP Literature October 2015 1984 Dialectal Journals for Part 2 Text Response 1. “In front of him was an enemy who was trying to kill him; in front of him, also was a human creature… He had indistinctively started forward to help her,” (Orwell 106) This quote shows that even in this time where they live in a life where they are being manipulated, Winston is still living in a time where he is experiencing hatred, but still maintains what keeps him normal or humane, which keeps him separated from everyone else. This hate is showing that people still have hate for each other and still want to kill each other but it also shows the true human he is by helping her when she was threatened.

    Read More

  • Dialectical Journal For 1984 Part 1

    1048 Words  | 5 Pages

    Ariana Dalmau Mrs. Stevenson Pre AP English II July 13, 2015 1984 Part One, Chapter One Summary An occurrence at work that morning pushes Winston to start writing an illegal diary. “He tried to squeeze out some childhood memory that should tell him whether London had always been quite like this. Were there always these vistas of rotting nineteenth-century houses, their sides shored up with balks of timber, their windows patched with cardboard and their roofs with corrugated iron, their crazy garden walls sagging in all directions?” (Orwell 3)

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Control In George Orwell's 1984

    796 Words  | 4 Pages

    George Orwell’s 1984 is a precautionary tale of what happens when the government has too much control in our lives. The protagonist, Winston Smith, is at odds in a world in which he is not allowed to counter the government’s surveillance and control. Perhaps more striking is the noticeable relationship between the novel and modern society. In George Orwell’s novel 1984 the book predicts the surveillance of Big Brother in modern day societies.

    Read More

  • Winston's Loss Of Identity In 1984 By George Orwell

    1012 Words  | 5 Pages

    In his first dream, Winston’s admiration for his mother is triggered as he remembers that she “died loving him,” and “sacrificed herself to a conception of loyalty to him that was private and unalterable.” In Oceania, all forms of private loyalty and compassion are eliminated by Big Brother, for “today there were fear, pain and hatred, but no dignity of emotion”. No matter how inhuman a person is turned into, by the world, there is always something that holds them back to their real identity. For Winston, it was his dreams that kept him bonded with his

    Read More

  • 1984 Winston A Hero Analysis

    861 Words  | 4 Pages

    ”(Orwell 182) From this point on, Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia, and Winston explains that the work was tedious because, it was not even true. In the end Winston was tortured until he accepted all these vents were true, but he proved his act of heroism by standing against the party, and not believing

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of 1984 By George Orwell

    466 Words  | 2 Pages

    George Orwell is quoting that power is all that Winston needs, but power is not what he has to destroy Big Brother. Winston's determination does not fail to keep him from protesting against the party. O’Brien begins to show images of Winston body to him to push his limits. Winston continues to blame him for the way his body looks due to the beating and torturing. O’Brien then states to Winston, “This is what you accepted when you set yourself up against the party.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Winston Smith In 1984

    220 Words  | 1 Pages

    Winston Smith is not crazy, nevertheless, he lets himself be brainwashed by Ingsoc. Ingsoc, the ruling political party in 1984, controls its population through by brainwashing its citizens and using brutal fear tactics, forcing its people into submission, like Winston Smith, an inhabitant of Oceania. For example, one of the principles of the party is that Ingsoc and its leader, Big Brother, have always existed and will always exist. This ideal contradicts Winston’s direct memory of a time before Oceania, even so, Winston lies to himself and never forces himself to face the truth. The truth is a side-thought to Winston, which ultimately leads him to be caught by the Thought Police.

    Read More

  • 1984 Surveillance Essay

    528 Words  | 3 Pages

    Charrington, a store owner, and O’Brien are friends with Winston, but they are not the friendly people Winston thinks they are. At first, Winston is clueless about who Mr. Charrington is because he seems to be just a standard citizen. Winston finally realized who Mr. Charrington was when he “was looking, with knowledge, at a member of the Thought Police,” and that member turned out to be Mr. Charrington. Furthermore, O’Brien is disguised as someone who questions the government, just like Winston. It is not until O’Brien allows the guard to hurt Winston that he realizes that O’Brien is one of “them [Thought Police].”

    Read More

  • 1984 Winston's Desire For Change

    748 Words  | 3 Pages

    The aforementioned quotes illustrate the extent of Winston’s desire for change and revolution, which can be inferred by the structure, language, and context present in the quotes. For example, the leading quote displays Winston’s desperation for change, as seen by the use of “hope” and the simple sentence structure of the statement. The use of “hope” shows that Winston’s desires hinge upon the proles, thereby illustrating the extent of his nonconformity; he is willing to place the burden of his own humanity upon the undereducated masses of society, because they are not restricted by the party’s orthodoxy, as opposed to viewing them as mindless cattle. Similarly, the simple sentence structure of the leading quote displays the certainty of

    Read More

  • 1984 Theme Essay

    1559 Words  | 7 Pages

    In the novel 1984, by George Orwell, he uses truth and reality as a theme throughout the novel to demonstrate the acts of betrayal and loyalty through the characters of Winston and Julia. Orwell expresses these themes through the Party, who controls and brainwashes the citizens of Oceania. The party is able to control its citizens through “Big Brother,” a fictional character who is the leader of Oceania. Big Brother is used to brainwash the citizens into whatever he says. Orwell uses truth and reality in this book to reflect on what has happened in the real world such as the Holocaust and slavery.

    Read More

  • Comparing Orwell's 1984 And O Brien

    951 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the novel 1984, Winston makes (what seems to be) quite minor actions such as falling in love with a woman named Julia. They begin a “secret” affair in which they rent a private room from a man named Mr. Charrington. This affair structures into a strong bond between them which lets the readers believe they would do anything for each other: “The smell of her hair, the taste of her mouth, the feeling of her skin seemed to have got inside him, or into the air all around him. She had become a physical necessity” (pg. 140). Sadly, not only does Charrington turn out to be a member of the Thought Police, but he also turns them in which leads to their arrest.

    Read More

  • How Does George Orwell Use Torture In 1984

    501 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 1984 novel , Winston Smith is not like the rest of the people in his society. He hates Big brother . In book 3 of the novel Winston is put into the Ministry of love, Where there are four big telescreens monitoring his every move. Winston shares a cell with a few people including his neighbor Mr. Parson who was turned in for a thought crime. While winston shares a cell with a few people some of them get dragged to a horrifying room, room 101.

    Read More

  • George Orwell 1984 Setting Analysis

    1500 Words  | 6 Pages

    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”.

    Read More

  • 1984 Totalitarianism

    884 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 1984, George Orwell depicts a dystopian society pervaded by government control and the obsolescence of human emotion and society. Winston is forced to confront the reality of a totalitarian rule where the residents of Oceania are manipulated to ensure absolute government control and servitude of the people. The theme of totalitarianism and dystopia is employed in 1984 to grant absolute power to the government and ensure the deference of the people through the proliferation of propaganda, the repudiation of privacy and freedom, and the eradication of human thought and values. The repudiation of privacy and independent thought and the ubiquity of government surveillance is employed to secure absolute power to the government over the populace

    Read More

  • Reflection On 1984 By George Orwell

    1539 Words  | 7 Pages

    He gives up and realizes that he cannot change anything or prove anything against the supreme power of the Big Brother. He pays his allegiance to the government. Winston had to go through a series of tortures out of which Room no. 101 was the symbol of pain. He is made to face his ultimate fear that is rats, which makes him betray Julia and he loses everything. What is shown here is how the people, who rebel, who try bringing change and or try to understand and remember the past are treated.

    Read More

More about The Role Of Winston In George Orwell's 1984

Open Document