The novel 1984 by George Orwell is one in which there is an interesting central character. However, the protagonist shows Winston Smith’s demise was inevitable from the start.
George Orwell is the author of the book 1984 which is about a character called Winston Smith, who is a member of the ruling party in Oceania. On the outside, he is a loyal member to the party but on the inside, he is a rebel that doesn’t care about the party and hates Big Brother but he has to pretend because he is being watched everywhere he goes.
In the novel, Winston Smith is both an everyman and a person outside society. The first impression we get of Winston is a weak, worn down individual. Orwell only explains his physical characterisation in the beginning and end of the book. The middle of the book is more focused on characterising Winston’s mind. In the beginning of the book we are given a brief description of how Winston looks: ‘’Winston who was thirty nine and had a varicose ulcer above his right ankle.’’ He is also described as a hero because he writes ‘’DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER’’ repeatedly in his diary, he engages in a sexual relationship with a woman he barely knows and when he is given a chance to show the strength of his firmness, despite being battered down to his weakest state, he betrays the person he promised to always love. So it’s reasonable to say he’s a potential hero but he needs to build more determination to endure.
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The type of society described in 1984 is dystopian. The novel 1984by George Orwell shows as a grim and bleak place, where Big Brother is watching you, literally. Big Brother is the representative of the ruling party who puts everyone under constant surveillance, mainly by telescreens. The dystopian society in 1984 is a mix of fear, manipulation and control. The freedom to express ones thoughts was illegal. Such thoughtcrime was, in fact, the worst of all crimes: ‘Thoughtcrime does not entail: death thoughtcrime IS death’’ This setting establishes a feeling of impending doom for Winston since he is breaking so many rules under surveillance and will be punished if he gets caught doing anything outlawed.
The narrator focusses on Winston’s point of view through which we experience through his speech, thoughts and diary entries. Right from the start the narrative stance suggests Winston’s ultimate demise seeing that he is committing thoughtcrime by keeping his diary. Winston’s story is narrated in third person, this technique makes us feel sympathy for him since we have gotten used to seeing things from his perspective. George Orwell makes us connect with Winston through reading the brutal and exposed language of the torture scene.
References
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four
- http://www.openculture.com/books_free_ebook
- http://orwell.ru/library/articles/socialists/english/e_nswf
- https://orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/charles-dickens/
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Orwell
