Character Analysis Of 1984 By Winston Smith

In the novel, Winston is a character who lacks "hero" traits as he has more traits of an everyman than a hero. Winston is an out of shape, average man with a "varicose ulcer above his right ankle" (3). Considering the typical hero, not only does Winston lack the physical strength, he lacks the mentality as well. Throughout the novel, he consistently talks about "overthrowing the Party," but he never actually does it. Instead of overthrowing the Party, he rebels by purchasing a diary and writing sentences such as "DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER" (20) and " I don’t care down with big brother they always shoot you in the back of the neck" (21). Winston chooses to write these into his diary as he is too cowardly to say this in public. As time passes, his

In the book 1984, Smith is trying to be an individual in a society that is ruled by Big Brother. as a consequence of him trying to be an individual, he is testing the rules of the party. The individual in an authoritarian society is forced to follow the rules and beliefs of the rest of the society.

“I hate purity, I hate goodness! I don’t want any virtue to exist anywhere. I want everyone to be corrupt to the bones.” (Orwell 72). These are not the words of a man bereft of virtue. In fact, with these words, Winston Smith expresses his frustration at the falsehood the Party represents. This is, after all, a régime that perpetuates its repression through “double speak.” Its slogans displayed through Oceania are: “WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.” (Orwell 14). Winston Smith’s world is a world where all that is noble is forbidden, and all that is forbidden is noble. Truth and lies are intertwined to the extent of being indistinguishable. The awareness that Winston Smith possesses makes him an uncommon, if not extraordinary man. It is because of this awareness that he rebels against the tyranny of the Party and refuses to conform or adapt, and walk the predetermined path of a meaningless existence that has been chosen for

“We are taught that the hero’s journey is the journey from weakness to strength. But...[this is] wrong. The real hero’s journey is the journey from strength to weakness.” The real hero shows the ability to rise above challenges, even in a state of weakness, and wind up victorious. The real hero is flawed, but his courage, selflessness, and sacrifices for the greater good will rise above all. Winston Smith of 1984 is described as a “small frail figure” with a “varicose ulcer above his right ankle.” This is evidently not the image conjured when one imagines a hero, but due to the deceiving nature of appearances, we must consider his actions. What does Winston do? He writes “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” repetitively in his diary, he engages in a

Even though he is married, he and Julia have an affair that combines their personal desires as well as their desire to fight against the Party as it is explicitly stated in the novel. Winston and Julia both willingly participate in the affair because they are both moved to action by the Party’s acts of injustice. Winston is aware that the Party has blatantly outlawed “love” and Winston wants to feel romance in order to spite the Party. Both Julia and Winston would do anything to spite Big Brother. In addition to the love factor, Winston isn’t just participating because Julia is youthful, more so because he is drawn to the act of power. Winston isn’t just resisting power, he feels the need to hold

In order for the “Big Brother” to maintain this ideology, the ruler needs to have highly organized system and individuals to follow each and every task. In the novel, Oceania’s society has reached the level of brainwashing. In order for anyone to conquer such a vast and complicated system, the individual will need a highly-organized plan and a sophisticated mind to carry through. Winston possesses neither of these traits; therefore he was doomed to fail.

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 character, Winston Smith, in 1984 expresses and possess traits such as anxiety, bravery, and hopefulness. For example, Winston displays the character trait of anxiety when he envisions his destiny. In 1984, Winston bears thoughts about his future, “...they would cling together...like a damned soul grasping at his last morsel of pleasure when the clock is within five minutes of striking” (151). Here, Winston is constantly engrossed in the fact that he will eventually be caught by the dreaded Thought Police due to rebellious acts he has committed by himself and with Julia. On the other hand, Winston expresses and displays the thought of bravery. “Their embrace had been a battle, the climax a victory” (126). In this quote, Winston shows bravery

We often change at least once or twice during a lifetime. In the movie Nineteen Eighty-Four we can see how a man, the protagonist Winston Smith, changes and develops both in good and bad ways. By dividing the movie in to three parts, the beginning, the middle and the end, I will try to give you a picture of how Winston changes throughout the movie.

“I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery”(Thomas Jefferson). In the book 1984 the author George Orwell depicted a dystopian society where Oceania exhibited no laws, yet freedom only existed through limitations and bounded by watchful eyes of Thought Police. Terror and fear tear this world apart; family values become unworthy and limitations are tested. Winston is one of the intellectual characters who clearly acknowledges the distrust in The Party and Big Brother. He posses traits of a radical and to avoid being caught he hides his way to express himself. There is no freedom in 1984, because individuals have no freedom of speech, no choice in marriage, and no ability to testify against the intellectual standing, which only the party

“ War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength,”. The following quote originates from the infamous novel, 1984 by George Orwell. The significance of this popular quote was to display an example of the action of doublethink. Doublethink is the act of having two contradictory thoughts at the same time and believing both are true. Doublethink plays an influential role in the novel, 1984. The novel takes place in a super-state by the name of Oceania which covers the entire continents of our America in reality. The main character of this novel is Winston Smith, a thirty-nine year-old Party member who works at the Ministry of Truth correcting “errors” in past publication who has a

Having a passionate relationship is no longer a foreign concept to Winston, he now loathes it. When having a conversation with Julia he thinks, “. With Julia, everything came back to her own sexuality." As soon as this was touched upon in any way she was capable of great acuteness.”. Winston does, in fact, enjoy the sex, but after seeing Julia for months at this point, he realizes their differences. Julia is focused on having a sexual relationship with people, but not committing anything that would affect the integrity of the party’s rule. When Winston thinks, “ With Julia, everything came back to her own sexuality”, it is showing the signs of a disconnect. While the love for Julia has not changed in this passage, his quest for anti-Big brother actions is not fully satisfied. The physical relations between Julia and Winston only scratches the surface on what Winston desires.

In the beginning of the book, Winston inwardly believes that Julia is an amateur spy or a member of the thought police. during the two minute hey, let's and thinks that “her [Julia’s] real object had been to listen to him and make sure whether he was shouting loudly enough.” (Orwell, 61) Winston also said, “I wanted to rape you[Julia] and then murder you”(orwell 120) Winston questioning Juliet's true intentions show his distrust for her and him wanting to rape and murder her shows how Winston has a strong hate for Julia. Winston's view of Julia also shifts. This is exemplified when with his having a mental breakdown at the end of the book. He screams, “Julia! Julia! Julia, my love! Julia!" (orwell, 280) Not only did this outcry show his love for Julia, it also put Winston in great danger, Winston questioned how much time he had added to his servitude with that show emotion. The shows another major change in Winston character. He goes from being very suspicious of Juliet the risking a lot just to call for her. This perspective shifts shows how much Winston changed during the book, he is crying out for someone he said he wanted to rape and kill earlier in the

Winston, despite his flawed nature and his cryptic thoughts, could be seen as somewhat of a hero, he got the girl, he found a flaw in the system, he attempted to join a rebellion

Winston Smith, George Orwell’s main character from 1984, contributes greatly to the novel in many ways. While he is presented to be a simple man, Winston adds many complex ideas to the classic piece of literature. Orwell uses internal and external characteristics, symbols, and significant quotes to develop Winston’s role in 1984.