1984 Essay

Winston: Oceania Hero Or Not? “George Orwell once offered this definition of heroism: ordinary people doing whatever they can to change social systems that do not respect human decency, even with the knowledge that they can’t possibly succeed.” In George Orwell’s novel, 1984, the protagonist, Winston Smith is described in words of being the ordinary, everyday man to the dystopian society that Orwell envisions to us through Winston’s eyes. the life of a Oceanian citizen. However, in the closing of the novel he admits his admiration for Big Brother. My definition of a hero falls basically along those words but slightly more of a cliche thought to it in the way of the hero is willing to risk their life to abide by true morals in conquering the foundation of the inhumane treatment brought upon the blameless for the justice of everyone. The hero is suppose to be of selfless act and thought. With thorough analysis of Winston and his thoughts and actions throughout the novel, by Orwell’s definition, along with my own i do not consider Winston Smith to be hero. First to address that in a dystopian state there is not a clear manifestation of true heroism. In a society where the extent of individuality is merely greeting a fellow citizen,even then limited to “ greetings comrade”, there are just rebels. A rebel is what i would identify Winston as, not a hero. The supposed heroic actions Winston commits throughout the novel were not heroic at all, but frankly his personal rebellions rather than a need to rebel against the government in the hopes of altering the social society. Winston’s first encounter of rebelling against the Party was the day we wrote a journal entry in secrecy consisting of the phrase “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER”. After writing this he knew immediately that he was well condemned to be caught by the Thought Police and due to this fact Winston began carelessly engaging in law breaking actions that put him at even greater risks. This thinking would be seen