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Examples Of Heroism In 1984

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Finally, the last component of Winston Smith’s heroism that must be taken into consideration is his character. More specifically, it is a matter of which attributes allow him to be a hero that readers can admire and emulate – a cardinal aspect to any literary hero. For Winston, it is his demonstration of courage, selflessness, and determination throughout the novel that explicitly makes him prevail as the respected hero of 1984, in spite of his failure to endure his hatred for the Party. To begin, it is only natural to start with Winston’s courage, as this makes its first appearance early in the novel when he purchases the paperweight from the junk-shop: “It was a queer thing, even a compromising thing, for a Party member to have in his possession” …show more content…

With this act of rebellion against the oppressive system of Oceania, Winston showcases his courage because he does all of this to aid him in his journey towards uncovering the truth of the past. Next, there is the selflessness that Winston possesses. For this specific quality, it is shown most prominently when Winston gets into a disagreement with Julia on their goals for their rebellion. During this argument, Winston firmly states that the reason for his desire to obtain and keep incriminating records of the Party’s lies is so that they can be left behind, thereby allowing for “‘the next generations [to] carry on where [they] leave off’” (196). From this, Winston demonstrates how unselfish he is because, rather than worrying about himself – like Julia – he wants actual change and progress to come as a result of his rebellion. Therefore, despite the fact that obtaining proof against the Party is tremendously risky, Winston has no problem with doing so because it gives future generations a chance at having a better

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