Who Is Winston Smith A Hero

Desperation. Depression. Destruction. After the second World War, general outlook became bleak. There was an immense amount recuperating and rebuilding that needed to be done—not to advance society, but to restore it to its state before the fighting. The world had been scarred, emotionally more than anything. Seeing the mistakes that caused years of warring made people afraid of the present, and unsure of the future. From this darkness sprouted what is considered the most classic example of dystopian fiction. Nineteen Eighty-Four, written by George Orwell, creates a universe out of the people's collective uncertainty. Published in 1949 but set in the year of the title, the story unfolds in the distant future (now the distant past), warning
Considering this question objectively, one would have to ask what it means to be heroic. Winston, like many modernized protagonists, does not match the archetype for the classical hero: as mentioned before, he has no special qualities, there is no call to adventure, and definitely no supernatural help. Perhaps, being a product of Orwell's imagination, Winston would fit his own creator's idea of a hero. George Orwell himself defined heroism as “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.” This definition seems more appropriate for a modern day man and woman, but is that what Winston Smith
Did Winston succeed in changing the system? Absolutely not. Did he try? That is debatable. What really clarifies Winston's standing as a hero is his motive. Winston did not show much desire to change the system because it did not respect human decency—He wanted to change the system because it did not respect his own decency. It seems quite likely that, given the opportunity, Winston would be satisfied if he could extract himself, and only himself, from the grasp of the Party. One may be able to conclusively say that Winston was not a hero. Winston is human. With no help, mortal or otherwise, and no special characteristics, can readers really expect him to be spectacular? Maybe he was not meant to be anyone's savior—maybe he was not hero at all, but that does not make him less admirable. There is admirability in his questioning and in his desire to be happy. He is still emulatble and one can learn from his mistakes. He shows readers that not all misfortune can be resolved, and if everyone is expected to be a hero, is anyone