Symbolism In 1984

To begin with, the main character of 1984, Winston Smith, hates Big Brother who is basically the most powerful ruler of Oceania, the area Winston lives in. In addition, Winston keeps a hidden diary in which he writes all his evil thoughts about how he hates the party and their laws. In chapter 1 part 1, it says, “His pen had slid voluptuously over the smooth paper, printing in large neat capitals — DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER over and over again, filling half a page.” This shows that Winston

The main character, Julia is revealed as weak, and incapable of helping her self up as ‘she held out a free hand’ toward Winston

Orwell states that “the coral was Julia’s life and his own, fixed in a sort of eternity at the heart of the crystal." This is symbolic in the sense that just as the glass is easily shattered, the small fragile world that Julia and Winston created will surely be crushed if they are ever to be caught.

Usually heroes are strong, but some readers are more used to female heroes, where in it could be argued that Julia is actually the main hero, in Orwell’s eyes, as she is brave, headstrong and until she met Winston, she was getting by quite well. Usually, in novels, the stronger character is the hero, the weaker one is sometimes the love interest but foolish Winston is weak and hopeless and is not the hero, more like the one who needs saving. Julia could effectively be the hero, as arguably, she is the one who saved Winston. She is not a fool like Winston, but she trusts him and that is her mistake. Winston Smith: It's not so much staying alive, it's staying human that's important. What counts is that we don't betray each other. J: “If you mean confessing, we're bound to do that. Everybody does. You can't help it.” W: “I don't mean confessing. Confessing isn't betrayal. I mean feelings. If they can make me change my feelings. If they can stop me from loving you, that would be real betrayal.” J: “They can't do that. It's the one thing they can't do. They can torture you, make you say anything. But they can't make you believe it. They can't get inside you. They can't get to your heart. “ It is clear that Julia, unlike Winston actually understands the plight of Big

Through the beginning sections of the novel, the severity of the consequences from Julia and Winston’s affair become quite prominent after the realization that they are taking part in one of the ultimate acts of defiance to Big Brother. Because Julia and Winston are risking a lot to be with one another, the secrecy of their relationship is a key factor in the suspense that builds towards the climax of the story. The suspense greatly affects the plot of the story by

Jacobs made a strong argument about the body representation made by Orwell in his book, especially in the character of Winston. This seemed to be attributed to the fact that Orwell was dying when he wrote the book, so the story included his “personal failings” (Jacobs 14). Since Winston’s resistance did not win in the end, and he was overcome by Big Brother, the book seems to tell that resistance is doomed. This is especially true in the last two sentences in Orwell’s book in which he wrote, “He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother” (376). Referring to Winston’s loving of Big Brother as victory over himself was like Orwell telling the readers that minds can be broken under torture, and that this pain could make the mind think of betraying loved ones. When Winston was tortured with his greatest fear, the rats, he said, “Do it to Julia! Not me! I don’t care what you do to her. Tear her face off, strip her to the bones” (Orwell 362).

<Interesting Intro> 1984 takes place in a society where the government controls everything and everyone, including ones thoughts. Some characters battle with the outward conformity, where they are supposed to act and think like a party member, and with the inward questioning that makes them rebel against the party. The author, George Orwell, witnessed totalitarian societies with his own eyes. Because of this, Orwell sends a message through the book by trying to show how totalitarian societies are bad. Orwell uses Winston as a symbol that shows how totalitarian societies are not beneficial to the people and can make them live double lives.

1. There are many things I would like to discuss about this book. I would like to talk about the main character, Winston Smith. I liked Winston because he was just an average guy. He wasn’t your typical super strong and attractive hero. And although I am not a 39 year old man with a varicose ulcer on my leg, I could relate to the way he felt. I liked that he wasn’t afraid to do something to even try to help overthrow the party, even though he completely knew he would be caught. He joins the Brotherhood, which is a secret organization working against the party. O’Brien, the man who brings Winston into the Brotherhood, tells him how his life will play out. “‘You will work for a while, you will be caught, you will confess, and then you will

Winston Smith, a middle-aged man who works as a records editor in Records Department at the Ministry of Truth, is the novel 's protagonist. He is the character that the reader most identifies with, and the reader sees the world from his point of view. Winston is a kind of innocent in a world gone wrong, and it is through him that the reader is able to understand and feel the suffering that exists in the totalitarian society of Oceania. As a secretly rebellious free thinker, Winston challenges the societal norms placed in the story by the antagonistic government, known as the Party. Orwell wants the reader to be intrigued when vivid descriptions of advanced technology, such as telescreens and hidden microphones, are included in the text providing the feeling of familiarity and pleasure. On the contrary, constant mentions of the tyrannical rule of Big Brother keeps the reader anxious about what will happen to Winston. Furthermore, the Party, the omnipresent ruling system in Oceania, uses several techniques in order to control the minds of the citizens. By exploiting the need to fit in through the use of the Anti-Sex League, the Party is able to suppress resistance to new ideas. The Party also destroyed the ability of citizens to evaluate logically by eliminating any privacy through the form of telescreen surveillance. Finally, through the

Winston Smith is a thirdy-nine-year-old intellectual, fatalistic, frail and a thin man which is the minor member of the ruling Party in near-future London. We experience the nightmarish world that the writer envisions through his eyes. Winston is extremely pensive, curious and desperate to understand how and why the Party exercises has such absolute power in Oceania. He passionately hates the totalitarian control of his government and the Party. He has his own revolutionary dreams.He wants to test the limits of its power and he commits crimes, have an illegal love affair with Julia to get himself secretly into the anti-Party Brotherhood.

Winston rebels against the party by virtue of changing the society in which he lives in and Julia rebels because the party restricts her physical needs and desires.

As Winston is captured by the government, he is told that there are three stages of his “reintegration”; learning, understanding, and acceptance. Winston refuses to betray his lover Julia until the last stage as he yells to his tormentors, “Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia! Not me! I don’t care what you do to her. Tear her face off, strip her to the bones. Not me! Julia. Not me!” (300). , Orwell) Spewing such harsh and petrifying phrases about his past lover, showcases that Winston under the torment and oppression of the Party has capitulated and accepted Big Brother while breaking the final bonds of his romantic relationship with Julia. Instilling oppression on romantic love ensures that the citizens of Oceania love Big Brother and the government with their full capacity; confirming that the individual will never favour their loved one over the government. Once a courageous individual rebelling against the government, using his relationship with Julia as a weapon, now merrily a shadow of his former past, broken down by the oppression instilled by the government. By betraying his lover, Julia, Winston demonstratesions that the government has won. Contradictory to his initial feeling towards Big Brother, Winston’s love is now dedicated towards the government. In the aftermath of his “reintegration”, “[Winston] loved Big Brother,” (311) , Orwell) leaving no additional room in his damaged heart for Julia. However, Winston is not the only character who suffers with the decision of betraying their loved

This book starts in London on April fourth, 1984. The book is written in partly third person, and partly in first person. The book is divided into three distinct parts. The first part is showing you the main character, Winston Smith and his differences and frustration with the world he works and lives in. The country or the “Super state” he lives in called Oceania is run under a government called INGSOC (English Socialism). The leaders of the nation are called "The Party." The Party is divided into two sections, The Inner Party, and The Outer Party. The "Rich" and the "middle-class." There is a third group of people called "The Proles," or "The Proletariat" who are the lower class or the poorer class. The main leader of this government is called “Big Brother” and there also a very famous conspiracy theory about a traitor of the state by a person called “Emmanuel Goldstein” who was part of the inner party and then betrayed the state. The book is about the life of Smith with his frustration towards the government and the society he lives and the journey he embarks on from hating the party to finding comfort in another party worker and to eventually falling in love with big brother. The book is divided into three parts with the first part explaining the dynamics and structure of the new world. The second part focuses on how Smith finds solace by committing “though crime” as his act against the party and finally,

The story began by introducing the main character Winston Smith. Winston worked for the government, rewriting the history of Oceania to make Big Brother seem all-powerful. This showed the extreme measures Big Brother went to so that it would not be overthrown. Winston disagreed with the government, but kept his feelings hidden to escape persecution from the thought police. Since Winston was keeping his dissatisfaction from everyone, he was very paranoid. He judged everyone as if they were a spy waiting to catch him and take him to prison. Although odd, Winston symbolized the good left in a society where there was not much good.

Winston's idea of the perfect society, democracy, is crushed by the power of totalistic beliefs. There are three climaxes in this story. One of them is when Winston and Julia make love in the woods. This is a climax because it signifies that Winston is ready to challenge the political influence on his society. This is considered abhorrent in his society because it believes the government is the sole provider and it functions in the best interest of its citizens. Another climax comes at the end of part two in the book when Winston and Julia are caught together by the Thought Police. This denotes the end of Winston's true personality and the beginning of an implanted one. The last climax is when Winston's thoughts of freedom and character are replaced by the beliefs of the government and acceptance of Big Brother. Incidentally, this is also how the novels ends. The plot is predictable because it evokes anticipation from the reader of Winston and Julia getting caught. The reader continues reading just to find out how they get caught and what their consequences will be. The plot contains "signposts" for the reader that foreshadow what will be happening next. The reader does not have a rough time understanding the plot because it contains no surprises or twists. In all, the plot is straightforward, organized, and leaves nothing unanswered.