“He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.” Quote from the writer of 1984, George Orwell, who fixes upon the concept that the year 1984, will be governed by totalitarianism. He conveys to the reader a brief overlook on how an Oceania citizen, reacts to a highly demanding party. Winston Smith, the protagonist of the novel, reveals to the reader two different sides of his character; one of which displays loyalty, and the other which questions the power of Big Brother. Thought crime is known to be one of many crimes in Oceania, yet, Winston takes it as the ultimate risk for true democracy.
Winston Smith is portrayed to be an undistinguished man, who is highly unlikely to think like any of the of the other common citizens of his society. His everyday struggle to keep from appearing suspicious to Big Brother is inevitable. Big Brother sustains the belief ...view middle of the document...
Anything that the Party perceives as a threat, will be sent to the Truth of Ministry for revision. Winston is a very skilled worker, yet, he believes that what he does is one way to convince the society about the Party's good leadership. He is a character who is constantly wondering about the past and the old days that used to be governed by democracy. The people residing in Oceania are expected to possess no emotion towards the conflicts that they may have, not even the smallest of problems. Winston, on the other hand, has a difficult time at attempting to mask his emotions, his thoughts, and his actions. On the outside, he shows honesty, seriousness, and loyalty, but in consequence of knowing that he can disappear at any given moment.
Julia was part of Winston's rebellion, he would find peace and liberty when he was with her. It was the only time he felt freedom and had the confidence to believe he had an opportunity to revolt against Big Brother. Winston knew what the consequences would be, and was highly conscious that when he got caught, it would be as if he never existed. Most people would never stop and think about a particular situation, nor were they permitted to think for themselves. The telescreens are always attentive to what people discoursed about or in what they believed was right or wrong. For one part, Winston was smart enough to find a way to express himself freely, considering that he was still at risk.
In Conclusion, Winston was deemed to be a weak character because of his actions towards the end of the novel. All the courage and strength that he was believed to have grown was, without a doubt, destroyed by his worst fear, rats. He realized that it was no use trying rebel against the whole community who was in favor of Big Brother. The few moments he had of freedom were not powerful enough to inspire him to fight for democracy. The only useful thing that Winston was able to accomplish was to hide his rebel side for a great while. His only mistake was trusting an old man, who secretly worked for the Thought Police and ruined his only chance of independence.
