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Winston Smith Character Analysis Essay examples

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AP Literature 30 August Character Analysis of Winston Smith from 1984 Winston Smith, George Orwell’s main character from 1984, contributes greatly to the novel in many ways. While he is presented to be a simple man, Winston adds many complex ideas to the classic piece of literature. Orwell uses internal and external characteristics, symbols, and significant quotes to develop Winston’s role in 1984. Internal Characteristics are a big part of the development of a main character and ideas relating to the character. They let the reader have a better idea of the character’s personality, beliefs, and motives. One of Winston Smith’s internal characteristics is curiosity, he is curious about many different things through the whole book. …show more content…

This paperweight represents many different things related to Winston. It symbolizes the past in which Winston strives to understand because it is a “little chunk of history they’ve (the Party) forgotten to alter.” It is something little from the past that Winston wishes he knew about. The paperweight also represents his dreams of freedom of the mind, the ability to remember something that “the Party” does not want him to. Also the paperweight does not just represent the past, it represents Winston’s desire to make the substantially important connection to the past. The glass paperweight is also significant because it shows that “the Party” cannot always control every memory that someone carries with them. Also throughout the novel Winston mentions “a place” which is also a very significant part of the novel and his journey. “The Place Where There is No Darkness” is very symbolic to the development of Winston and his thoughts about his fate. Throughout the novel Winston imagines meeting O’Brien in this place. The words first come to him in a dream and he ponders them for the remainder of the novel. Eventually Winston does meet O’Brien in “the place where there is no darkness” and instead of it being paradise like Winston imagined, it is a prison cell where the light is never turned off. Winston’s idea of “the place where there is no darkness” symbolizes his ultimate doomed fate. When the words first come to him Winston thinks

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