Examples Of Free Will In 1984

In George Orwell’s lasting novel 1984, he creates a society where no free thought or free will is allowed. Even thoughts (Thoughtcrimes) or facial expressions (Facecrimes) can end in torture and eventually, disappearance. In this novel, Winston Smith’s fate is sealed from the beginning but he still tries to exercise his own free will. Winston often knows that his actions will get him caught, but he continues to make his own (bad) decisions: "Whether he wrote DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER, or if he refrained from writing it, made no difference. Whether he went on with the diary, or whether he did not go on with it, made no difference. The Thought Police would get him just the same" (Orwell 19). To The Party, even something as small as a free thought

By writing this hopeful line, Orwell allows the audience to feel optimistic about Julia and Winston’s outcome and the results of their actions. This quote also manages to make the true ending more disappointing than it already is because the audience wants their free will to overpower their fate. Early in the novel, Winston is chatting with an acquaintance of his, Syme, Winston realizes that “one of these days…Syme will be vaporized. He is too intelligent. He speaks too clearly and speaks too plainly. One day he will disappear. It is written in his face” (Orwell 53). While free will plays an important role in 1984, fate is an inescapable reality for some in that society. People like Syme (and even Winston) are destined to be caught and vaporized by The Party. This quote also foreshadows Syme’s actual disappearance and therefore expands Winston’s realization because it shows that everyone knows that actions like Syme’s end to a miserable fate. Since Orwell wrote fate with such a depressing tone, it evokes a sense of dislike in the audience towards fate which is contrasted with the audience’s hope for freedom. Orwell develops this society where fate is basically the worst possible outcome, and so the audience appreciates their own free will and