The Presentation Of Winston Smith In 1984 By George Orwell
George Orwell depicts Winston Smith as a typical individual readers can relate to the most. Though the readers aren’t physically going through what Winston went through, the reader can imagine the society the way the protagonist saw it. Winston shows that he is a loyal party member by working in the Ministry of Truth, where he changes historical records in correspondence to Big Brother’s wishes, regardless if the information was right or wrong. At the same time, Winston has an internal conflict for the need of freedom, this much allows him to commit little rebellious acts, further proving that he is not a classic hero. In the novel, 1984, George Orwell portrays Winston Smith as the antihero of the story to help contribute to his overall purpose by illustrating time and time again the corruptness brought on by a totalitarian government and how that ultimately breaks down the foundation of a archetypical hero.
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In the beginning of the novel, Orwell describes Winston almost as if he’s a follower.
Winston actively participates in the party by completing his tasks at his workplace and by joining in on the Two Minutes Hate. As the plot progresses, Winston commits minor disloyal infractions that he believes he will get caught for, such as purchasing the dairy from an ordinary shop which “party members were supposed not to go into” because it was “dealing on the free market” (page 6). Since the society in the novel was based on power and total control of all aspects of life, Orwell demonstrates that the citizens are not allowed to get rationed necessities from other places besides the government because the government wants to take over the individual's ability to think for themselves so they won’t overthrow the ministry. A free market is not supported in such a regime due to the authority figure’s guidelines, and whatever the “law” is has to be followed, even if an individual like Winston absolutely needed razor
blades.
He then meets Julia, who makes him misguide his judgements and therefore rebel against the government together. However, when they eventually get betrayed by O’Brien, Winston is sent to the Ministry of Love to be tortured for a copious amount of time. Rats, Winton’s greatest fear, is what O’Brien uses to instil the right amount of fright and panic into Winston to a point where Winston cries out, “Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia! I don’t care what you do to her…” (page 286). Orwell uses this to express that the government is willing to perform the extreme to ensure that the government is well and the individuals obey them. All barriers were broken down for Orwell to establish one simple idea: we should never follow a totalitarian government, which is his purpose of this novel and the reason why Winston is interpreted as an anti hero. By the actions and intentions portrayed by Winston, the reader can infer that Winston does all that he does to benefit others. Although he isn’t courageous in the end, he knows that the government is corrupt and that everyone should be equal. If it had not been for the torture and the brainwashing brought on by Room 101, Winston would’ve most likely still loathed Big Brother instead of going against all he believed in.
The novel 1984 brought on many thought provoking ideas utilized by Orwell to portray Winston as an antihero to highlight the tyrannical society as well as the power and control the government has over every individual. Orwell presents Wiston as an anti hero because Winston notices the corruptness of the government but doesn’t rebel against it to fight for the injustice in that society. Winston represents an average everyday individuals that a person can relate to, to show how the same person would react when put into situations like Winston was placed in.
Works Cited
Orwell, George. 1984. Ed. Erich Fromm. New York: Harcourt Inc., 1949.
In the beginning of the novel, Orwell describes Winston almost as if he’s a follower.
Winston actively participates in the party by completing his tasks at his workplace and by joining in on the Two Minutes Hate. As the plot progresses, Winston commits minor disloyal infractions that he believes he will get caught for, such as purchasing the dairy from an ordinary shop which “party members were supposed not to go into” because it was “dealing on the free market” (page 6). Since the society in the novel was based on power and total control of all aspects of life, Orwell demonstrates that the citizens are not allowed to get rationed necessities from other places besides the government because the government wants to take over the individual's ability to think for themselves so they won’t overthrow the ministry. A free market is not supported in such a regime due to the authority figure’s guidelines, and whatever the “law” is has to be followed, even if an individual like Winston absolutely needed razor
blades.
He then meets Julia, who makes him misguide his judgements and therefore rebel against the government together. However, when they eventually get betrayed by O’Brien, Winston is sent to the Ministry of Love to be tortured for a copious amount of time. Rats, Winton’s greatest fear, is what O’Brien uses to instil the right amount of fright and panic into Winston to a point where Winston cries out, “Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia! I don’t care what you do to her…” (page 286). Orwell uses this to express that the government is willing to perform the extreme to ensure that the government is well and the individuals obey them. All barriers were broken down for Orwell to establish one simple idea: we should never follow a totalitarian government, which is his purpose of this novel and the reason why Winston is interpreted as an anti hero. By the actions and intentions portrayed by Winston, the reader can infer that Winston does all that he does to benefit others. Although he isn’t courageous in the end, he knows that the government is corrupt and that everyone should be equal. If it had not been for the torture and the brainwashing brought on by Room 101, Winston would’ve most likely still loathed Big Brother instead of going against all he believed in.
The novel 1984 brought on many thought provoking ideas utilized by Orwell to portray Winston as an antihero to highlight the tyrannical society as well as the power and control the government has over every individual. Orwell presents Wiston as an anti hero because Winston notices the corruptness of the government but doesn’t rebel against it to fight for the injustice in that society. Winston represents an average everyday individuals that a person can relate to, to show how the same person would react when put into situations like Winston was placed in.
Works Cited
Orwell, George. 1984. Ed. Erich Fromm. New York: Harcourt Inc., 1949.