Only the brave ones are strong enough to accept that most things are not as one would like them to be. More than that, brave people are also the only ones willing to do something in order to change these negative situations. To prosper out of tragic realities one needs a very powerful weapon: hope. Hope moves humanity. It is what helps us when having to deal from the smallest hardships to the hardest battles. From getting out of bed every morning with motivation, to waiting for an almost magical miracle; hope is what holds us and pushes us forward. George Orwell in his novel 1984 writes about how the main character, Winston, decides not to let tragedy take over. Winston opposes Big Brother’s totalitarian government to defend what he believes in. He believes humanity deserves freedom in all aspects. In the dystopian environment where he lives in, Winston stands alone …show more content…
Throughout the whole book Winston has been keeping a diary. He writes his diary in a hidden corner of his home where Big Brother’s huge telescreen cannot detect him. Winston needs to keep this as a secret because expression is a deathly crime in Oceania. Winston’s main purpose while writing in his diary is reflecting his hopes for a future world where humans do not lack humanity. Winston writes his desires, angsts and memories, but most importantly, he writes about the truth; for example: “ Freedom is the freedom to say two plus two equals four. If that is granted all else will follow”(). The reader is able to see how Winston uses his diary as a source of rebellion towards a government that decides to deny reality. By finally expressing these thoughts he loses a lot of weight from his shoulders. The diary is a very important symbol in 1984 because Orwell is really representing his own thoughts and warnings about the future through Winston’s
1984 is a cautionary tale that follows Winston through the cruel world he lives in. To give a bit of background, the novel was published on June 8th, 1949, only about two years into the start of the cold war. The “horror” of communism was rampant during this time, and George Orwell wanted to show what could happen if a government had so much control over the people of their country. He wanted people to understand that governments should not be able to dehumanize people, otherwise the people living there aren’t technically human. Orwell wanted people to know how to stay human, they just have to have a personality, and to hold onto your own opinions. According to George Orwell, it doesn’t take a lot to be human, but the few things it does take are so important, that if we were to let them go, our worlds would fall apart. George Orwell wants his readers to understand and hold on to the things that are important to us, the ones we love, the things we do, the people we are, because those are the things that truly make us
In the novel 1984, George Orwell relates the tension between outward conformity and inward questioning by allowing the reader to see inside of the mind of Winston Smith. Orwell uses Winston’s rebellious thoughts to counteract his actions in order to show the reader how a dystopian society can control the citizens. Although Winston is in an obvious state of disbelief in the society, his actions still oppose his thoughts because of his fear of the government. Winston’s outward conformity and inward questioning relate to the meaning of the novel by showing Winston’s fight to truth being ended by the dystopian society’s government.
Winston goes through emotional change throughout 1984 that changes his perspective and personality. At the beginning of the book, Winston is filled with hatred towards the Party. “They’ll shoot me in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother they always shoot you in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother-” (Orwell, 19). Winston’s fury towards the Party and Big Brother is evident. Through his diary entries, you can definitely tell that he harbors an intense anger towards them. So, it may seem that this trait will never change and make him always fight for it. The reader may at first think that he will never change views. But then, Winston completely changes perspective at the end of the book when he states, “He loved Big Brother.” (Orwell, 298). This keeps Winston from becoming another boring character who refuses to change his opinion which makes for an interesting book and a more complex character.
The quote from Winston’s diary in 1984 illustrates the acts of rebellion he has towards the “totalitarian” government in Oceania. Winston’s urge to challenge the political regime that rules the all of Airstrip One, as he sometimes, have the flash back from the past and through his fantasies, he envision the future without the totalitarian government. Winston, however, is craving for freedom of being in a world where people are not being watched, and where they can act, feel and do whatever they desire. As mentioned in the Sparknote Editors’ summary of 1984 that the history shows “Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia and in alliance with Eastasia, but Winston knows that the records have been changed. Winston remembers that no one had heard of Big Brother, the leader of the Party, before 1960 …” (1; bk. 1). This past in Winston’s mind strengthens his mind to rebel and refuse to be convinced by the Big Brother. In reference to the future, Winston’s fantasies of having total control of his life, which then lead to “dreams of a place called The Golden Country, where the dark-haired girl takes off her clothes and runs toward him in an act of freedom that annihilates the whole Party” (1; bk. 1). The past and future in Winston’s quote contribute to the factor that strengthens his urge to rebel, which then lead to his journaling as a way to expressing his repressed emotions. In addition, Winston wishes a world where people could count on each other, provide support to each
Rebecca Solnit, a modern day author, essayist, and activist once wrote that “The revolution is waiting, but it doesn’t look like what people expected”. Revolution has been both glorified and criticized in human society, but no matter the cause, it is a fundamental change in the status quo. When revolution boils down, it comes to passion, but also the willingness of the few to take great risks for the many. George Orwell’s 1984 returns again and again to a struggle with the concept of rebellion, especially against an oppressive government force like The Party. Does one take the chance of moving forward, or stay stagnant in their current situation? As readers follow Winston in this internal conflict, it’s clear to see that in order for a
The theme best presented in George Orwell’s 1984 is freedom is worth fighting for. According to the novel “1984” by George Orwell, the text states, “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.” This evidence supports the theme because it shows that freedom is being able to make decisions on your own without anyone telling you they are wrong. Orwell also states, “If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable-what then? But no! His courage seemed suddenly to stiffen of its own accord.” This evidence shows that Winston is ready to do whatever it takes to get the freedom he deserves because he is realizing how restricted the rules can really be. This therefore proves the theme is freedom is worth fighting for because in his world, the party is very controlling. This is what makes Winston want to fight for his freedom. The novel “1984” also states, “And yet he was in the right! They were wrong and he was right. The obvious,
“1984” by George Orwell is a utopian and dystopian novel, this novel is enticing and while very gloomy proves to be an extraordinary book with an old futuristic feel to it. In the very beginning of the novel, we are introduced to a character named Winston, who has a very strong opinion against the Party and he immediately has thoughts and actions going against the organization which controls the world that he lives in. He first keeps a record of his thoughts in a diary and then joining what he thought was the “Brotherhood” which tries to sabotage the Party with the hope of making it fail, falls in love with a girl named Julia and strives to live a life that is not controlled by the Party. Major events of this story were that Winston wrote
George Orwell’s 1984 published in 1949 is one of the important novels in the twentieth century, since author’s vision is satirist and prophetic that it is one of the most powerful warnings ever issued against the dangers of a totalitarian society. During the WWII, George Orwell witnessed the rise to power of dictators such as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin of the nightmarish atrocities committed by fascist political regimes, and inspired his mounting hatred of totalitarianism and political authority; therefore, in novel 1984, Orwell uses the characterization of the main character, Winston Smith, to show that an extreme totalitarian government can destroy one’s morals, beliefs, and self-worth. Like Aldous Huxley’s
Orwell made this book for the purpose of cautioning the future generation of the course society is leaning towards. Winston tries to rebel in a world where the bad guys can predict everything you will do. That is why he failed. Orwell wanted to show that you can’t rebel if your core personality isn’t strong enough to handle the unimaginable difficulty of this feat. orwell doesn’t have a bright look on the future. He doesn’t have hope for the world because he knows humans will choose ease of living over freedom. Winston was the perfect character to portray an average person trying to rebel in a bleak
The main character in George Orwell’s book 1984 is a thirty-nine year old man with the name of Winston Smith. Winston Smith creates thought crimes, he also has anti-Party views. The story “1984” tells about all of Winston Smith’s struggles. In an effort to avoid being monitored, Winston physically conforms to society, however mentally he does just the opposite. Winston is a thin, frail and intellectual thirty-nine year old. Winston hates totalitarian control and enforced repression that are characteristics of his government. Winston hates being watched by Big Brother. He always has revolutionary dreams, he feels like he would be protected. Julia is Winston’s lover, a beautiful dark- haired girl working in the
Orwell utilizes foreshadowing in the novel to hint at what the outcome may be later on in the novel. Winston acknowledges the consequences of rebelling the Party. Thus, his decisive act of writing his private thoughts in the
“BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption said, while the dark eyes looked deep into Winston's own." These images fill the reader, leading him or her to realize the darkness that lies in Winston’s community before the advent of his adventure. As James A. Tyler explains the situation in his article “Self and space, resistance and discipline: a Foucauldian reading of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four”: “Orwell's concerns regarding the abuse of power, the denial of self, and the eradication of both past and future continue to resonate in contemporary discussions of politics and society.” This take on the world that Orwell creates makes it clear that the world of Winston Smith clearly conveys a “waste land” type of environment. In fact, the ugly nature of the “waste land” that Winston find himself in employs qualities of extracting freedom and thought from its inhabitants. This type of dwelling clearly manifests the idea that Orwell successfully puts forth which is that the place where Winston lives is symbolic of the “waste
In the novel 1984 written by George Orwell, Winston Smith is a thirty-nine-year-old man who lives in the city of Oceania. Oceania is controlled by a strict government regime known as the Party in which the leader is Big Brother. Throughout the novel, Winston outwardly conforms while questioning inwardly the morals and existence of the Party and Big Brother. However, Winston’s unsuccessful questioning and attempt to overthrow the Party and Big Brother symbolize the collapse of mankind at the hands of Socialism. The manipulation and control that the Party has over its citizens throughout the novel is a subtle way for George Orwell to tell the readers that one day the world he created could become a reality.
Winston's Predicament in 1984 The dystopian world George Orwell created for 1984 is a bleak, emotionless place, grey shaded and foul smelling, full of hate and distrust. The humans that inhabit it do not live, they are simply expected to exist for the good of the sinister Party, a totalitarian government, while their leader gazes down at them from every wall, watching their every move. One of these humans, and our protagonist, is Winston Smith. His problems when simplified may seem like the problems of any other person: his lack of freedom, his repressed emotions and his desperate loneliness.
In this chapter, Orwell concentrates on the development of Winston’s character who has a pessimistic outlook. Winston reflects back on a dream where O’Brien tells him, “We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness”. He never considered the importance that the dream may hold and is unsure of what it means but knows that it will happen. He also displays his uncertainty of whether or not if O’Brien is his friend or enemy. While writing another diary entry, Winston realizes that his efforts are futile. Who is he writing to? If he gets caught, not only will death be a result, but also annihilation. Thoughtcrime is death so he was already dead because he is certain that he will be caught. The past isn’t allowed to exist so once he is found out, he will be killed and his diary will be destroyed by the Thought Police. Winston