Premium Essay

Role Of Winston Smith In 1984

Submitted By
Words 665
Pages 3
The protagonist, Winston Smith, is a citizen of Oceania, one of their world’s three superstates along with Eurasia and Eastasia. It is the year 1984 and Winston lives in a place called Airstipe One, which used to be known as Great Britain. Winston is a member of the Party that rules Oceania under the principles of Ingsoc (English Socialism). Winston has never quite accepted the principles of Ingsoc and the Party. He believes in an unalterable past and wishes for privacy, love, and freedom, but cannot express himself for he fears death. Such thoughts constitute “thoughtcrimes,” which are highly punishable offenses resulting in arrest, imprisonment, torture, and even death. The telescreen was created in order to catch thought criminals …show more content…
It becomes nearly impossible for people to question the Party’s power in the present when they accept what the Party tells them about the past, which is that the Party arose to protect them from war and that the world was much uglier and harsh before they came to power. Winston vaguely understands this principle. He struggles to recover his own memories and formulate a larger picture of what has happened to the world, but he can barely recollect the events that had happened in his own …show more content…
Orwell foresaw a future in which the government would never trust its subjects. Orwell explains that, “the instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely” (Orwell page#). The telescreens’ presence was designed to project a constant stream of propaganda to manipulate and control the population, and to actively monitor everyone. The people are under constant surveillance. “It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within the range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of muttering to yourself- anything that carried with it the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide” (Orwell 62). They had no freedom of movement, and their emotions, words, or actions are observed to discern whether they are loyal supporters of the Party. “To keep your face expressionless was not difficult, and even your breathing could be controlled, with an effort: but you could not control the beating of your heart, and the telescreen was quite delicate enough to pick it up” (Orwell

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Comparing Gentlemen's Guide To Love And Murder '

...hosted the Department of Theater’s production of “1984” by George Orwell. Directed by Tom Mitchell, the successful performance attracted audiences from various background. The following paragraphs will discuss the technicality, the plot, and my own opinion about the play. The production was extremely representational as it did not interact with the audience at all. The audience acted only as observers and was not involved in any ways with the performance. This can be easily concluded when compared to other plays, such as the “Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” play that I attended a couple weeks ago. In this play, the actors made jokes involving the audience, which clearly showed that the actors were aware of the audience’s existence. However, in “1984”, the actors acted as if there was no audience. The best example would be shown...

Words: 1278 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Big Brother In George Orwell's 1984

...“ I don’t want other people to decide who I am, I want to be able to decide that for myself.” - Emma Watson. This quote relates to the book 1984 because the characters are always being shaped, or brainwashed in some way. In the book, 1984 by George Orwell a small town Oceania is ruled by Big Brother. Big Brother tells the characters right from wrong, and how they should live. One charecter Winston is deeply effected through the book by the beliefs of Big Brother. Big Brother develops the characters by using fear, and controlling their mind with “Big Brother is always watching.” Although Big Brother never really shows up in the book he plays a big role in forming our characters. Some characters such as Winston and Julia are brainwashed to believe sex, and feelings are wrong along with other ideas. They later use those ideas to rebel against the party. On top of that their told “Big Brother is watching” to influence their actions. This implies the people of Oceania cannot freely do what they want in fear Big Brother can see them. Another example of Big Brother brainwashing the...

Words: 661 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

1984 Freedom

...blindly follows a leader, there are bound to be problems. Where no thoughts are allowed, there is bound to be at least one that wants to rebel. In the novel, 1984, by George Orwell, all citizens of Oceania are kept under surveillance 24/7. There is no freedom in their world. However, not everyone is down with the party. Winston and Julia take a different route, and choose to rebel against Big Brother, thinking they have escaped the watchful eyes of the party. However, they were sadly mistaken. Big Brother sees all.Orwell’s character, Winston, is a quiet and critical thinker; Winston’s role is to overthrow the party in order to bring the past back; however, while on his journey, Winston is caught by Big Brother....

Words: 1157 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Examples Of Telecasts In George Orwell's '1984'

...THE MESSAGE "1984" emphasized the internal frustration of Winston Smith in trying to make a change in Oceania. The absence of freedom of expression in Oceania is extreme, but it is a lesson that we can learn on how much the government can control its citizens. While Oceania has telecasts, we have television. Even though we have more control with ours, there are still powerful authority that may decide what the citizens should know and what they should not know. On the extreme side, the telecasts in Oceania always talks about wars and only positive increases in the economy. Even though our society would question a continuously positive news, we are consumed by what is told on shows and advertisement. In conclusion, we can think that our society is controlled by a less powerful Big Brother. We may be fine with the condition we are currently in, but if we are not being critical, the...

Words: 938 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Comparative Essay

...technocratic purgatory,  Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-four describes a hell beyond Huxley's worst fears.  Compare and contrast the two novels as visions of a future that has gone dramatically wrong. Brave New World and 1984 were both written by men who had experienced war on the grand scale of the twentieth century. Disillusioned and alarmed by what they saw in society, each author produced a powerful satire and an alarming vision of future possibilities. Although the two books are very different, they address many of the same issues in their contrasting ways. Huxley's novel sets out a world in which society is kept carefully balanced, with the means of reproduction just as closely controlled as the means of production. Human beings and the goods they make are tailored to one another: people are created in order to fulfil particular purposes, and are encouraged to consume so as to maintain the cycle. The society presented in 1984 is less comfortably balanced. The population is kept content with a rather meagre lot because of the constant war, which, as is explicitly stated in the Book, is a convenient means of maintaining the status quo, and the Party keeps a very close watch on those members of society who are deemed capable of disrupting it. Although set in Orwell's future, 1984 does not put great emphasis on technological advance—indeed, within the society of Oceania, there is effectively none any more, because the methods required for proper scientific enquiry are antithetical to the...

Words: 3262 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire

...Humanities 101-03 10-30-13 George Orwell’s 1984 In the book 1984 has a futuristic setting from when it was wrote. Oceania is the super state where Winston Smith lives; he is the main character of the novel. Outside the streets are covered in trash and buildings are run down. The whole place just looks like a war zone. You can hear bombs and gunshots going off when Winston is just standing in his apartment. Winston’s job is changing the newspaper to make the paper seem more appealing. The government is not like ours, it is like Joseph Stalin with his fascism regime. But instead of pictures of Joseph Stalin it is a picture that looks like a mixture between Stalin, Franco, and Hitler. The picture is all over the place on these telescreens. Not only is the picture of Big Brother on these screens everywhere even in every house, but also they can see you threw the screen and watch the population. The government even tries to dumb down or depress it’s people. They push alcohol and cigarettes to keep the people drunk and dumb. They do not want the people talking and try to over throw the government. The people in this super state all wear blue overalls to make them the same. Men and women are not aloud to have sex for fun only to reproduce, that’s it. Men call women sister and women call men brother. It is the most ridicules society ever imaginable, it is one hundred percent controlled by the government and helicopters and tanks come by to check on the people and make sure they know...

Words: 1177 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

The World of Big Brother

...released in 1984 and is a movie adaptation of the dystopian novel of the same name by George Orwell. It stars John Hurt as Winston Smith, Suzanna Hamilton as Julia, Richard Burton as O’Brien, Cyril Cusack as Charrington, Gregor Fisher as Parsons, and James Walker as Syme. It is a film about the super power Oceania, which is one of the three states in the world, and how everything in the citizens’ lives, from work to thought and emotion, is either supressed or controlled by the totalitarian government. History is constantly edited and rewritten, and eradication of the English language is seen as a wonderful thing and is encouraged to make way for a new language called “Newspeak”, which consists of worlds like “thoughtcrime” and “crimestop”. The film deals with the main character Winston Smith, and his life living under the watchful eyes of “Big Brother”. Directors face quite a daunting task when creating a film based on a novel. It is always hard to find the perfect actors who not only fit the part of the characters, but can also portray them in a realistic way. In between reading the characters in the novel, and watching them later on in the film, it is evident that the characters have suffered many alterations. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, one character that has managed to evade change is O’Brien. In the novel he is described as a very intelligent and powerful man who wholeheartedly accepts the ideas of the Party as if they were his own, and Richard Burton manages to fit that role perfectly...

Words: 895 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

1984

...Orwell’s 1984 was written to inform his audience of the dangers of totalitarian governments. The society George Orwell creates, can be very easily compared to that of Hitler’s time. In Oceania, the minority has absolute power just like the Nazi Party had absolute power in and Germany. The Nazi’s were there to make sure that no rebellions took place just as Big Brother is there to stop any acts of rebellion in Oceania. Control is necessary in society up to a specific point where the government takes control of every aspect of life; beyond that it is no longer effective. Winston Smith is in a society in which the people like himself are under complete control physically and psychologically through use of technology and senior party members. The Thought Police stop any citizens thinking about rebelling with telescreens, hidden microphones, and children spies. Firstly, Big Brother, the fictional character, is described to be the dictator of Oceania, has the most powerful role in society as head of the party. The people are constantly reminded that “Big Brother is Watching You (Orwell 3).” They persistently watch the people for any act of rebellion. Control is being achieved however, it is not effective as public and private life is diminished. Next, the telescreen plays another effective role in helping the party manipulate the people by blasting out propaganda. The information they provide the people with is all lies to make the party look good. Winston works in...

Words: 830 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Love in 1984

...Love in George Orwell’s 1984 Love can play many roles in society. It can bring many people together happily or it can tear families apart so they will never speak to ach other again. Love can also be a political force. It can be an act of rebellion by individuals. It can also be a means to control individuals. This is what has occurred in George Orwell’s book 1984. George Orwell was born on June 25, 1903 as Eric Arthur Blair, in Bengal, India. His father, Richard Walmesley Blair, was an administrator in the Opium Department of the Indian government. (Mullen 3) Eric, his mother, Ida Mabel Limouzin Blair, and his older sister left India for England in 1908. (Flynn 9) In England the family lived as a “shabby-genteel family,” in his own words, at Henley on Thames. This was a happy time in his life and an inspiration for some of his writing, such as the essay, “Such, Such Were the Joys.”(Mullen 3) Also at this time Eric first showed signs of poor health. His mother recorded in her diary her concern for his bronchitis and a weak chest. (Flynn 11-12) In 1911 Eric went to St. Cyprian’s prepatory school. He was eight. (Flynn 19) Eric’s family kept him there at a great sacrifice to his family but at reduced fee because the headmaster hoped Eric would be able to win a scholarship. At the age of thirteen Eric went to Eton College after winning two scholarships. Eric was at Eton from 1917 to 1921. (Hopkinson 276) Eric praised Eton by complimenting its tolerant and civilized atmosphere...

Words: 2250 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Winston Smith In George Orwell's 1984

...In the book 1984 Winston Smith is a man hat lives in Oceania. Oceania was one of three split sections in the world at the time. His job was to change the history to what Big Brother wanted everyone to believe. Winston is unable to quit his job because of how much power the government had. If he were to even try he would most likely be punished or even killed. Winston was very unhappy with his job and his life. This showed a lot during the book. Everyone had to keep there ideas and opinions to them self because Big Brother was "always watching". Even then if for some reason abig brother wasn't around he had thought police. The thought police are exactly what it sounds like. They had servalaince screens that where always around. Winston kept...

Words: 441 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

1984 Rhetorical Analysis

...Wearing a Mask: Analysis of Rhetorical Devices Used in 1984 and 2016 Presidential Elections     In the novel 1984, George Orwell illustrates the life of a man named Winston Smith in a dystopian society. Although the government, known as the Party, in the novel certainly differs from our government today. Some of the rhetoric the novel uses have connections with those used by our major presidential candidates, Donald Trump and HiIlary Clinton. Many times, the ways that the public interprets the government’s and candidates’ actions may contrast from what they are truly saying or doing. The various strategies used by the Party and mirrored with Clinton and Trump implore that the voters take notice of these differences.     Firstly, the ways the...

Words: 1656 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Examine the View of Individual Standing Against the State

...“Wherever there is a man who exercises authority, there is a person who resists authority” –Oscar Wilde, this quote shows how throughout history there is always an individual who will stand up against a tyrant. This is also a feature of literature as well which is shown by: Brutus in ‘Julius Caesar’ who is fighting because of his ideals for a perfect life of liberty, Winston Smith in ‘1984’ who is fighting against a brutal totalitarian regime and Sir Thomas More in ‘A man for all seasons’ who is fighting due to his conscience being able to rule over his loyalty to King Henry. All three of these characters are in positions of power within the states they will later fight against: Brutus is one of Caesar’s key advisers who is described as patriotic as shown by the quote “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more” and is frequently referred to as an honourable man, Winston Smith is a technician within the Ministry of Truth and his job is to destroy any parts of history which disagree with the official party line and is described as having a “varicose ulcer above his right ankle” which forces him to “rest several times” on his way home and finally Sir Thomas More is Henry’s Chancellor of the Exchequer and is described as a kind and generous man who “would give anything to anyone” and very importantly he is a staunch Catholic, but what drives each of these men to strike out against the state they themselves are a part of? “Wherever there is a man who exercises authority...

Words: 1331 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

How Does George Orwell Use Language In 1984

...In George Orwell’s 1984 language has become a tool of mind control of the oppressive government and consequently a tool of rebellion against the Party. Winston Smith and Julia fight for the freedom of knowledge that has been manipulated by the Party’s control of everyday and historical language. The Party has created a language called, “Newspeak” which uses the destruction of words to make it impossible for future generations to think for themselves. The role of language in 1984 defines themes of control and the decision to rebel or surrender in a dystopian society where mind control has finally been enforced through language. The Party’s influence on language becomes crucial for its existence when those in power realized that control of language is the control of thoughts. By hindering...

Words: 684 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Technology And Gender In Brave New World Essay

...June Deery examines the role technology plays on female citizens in Huxley’s novel in “Technology and Gender in Aldous Huxley’s Alternative Worlds”. As a byproduct of the implemented technology, Deery discovers the blatantly visible gender bias. Despite this detail, the critic states how technology may be beneficial to women in certain instances. For example, “there [would be] no housework, no wifely subjugation, no need to balance children and a career” (Deery 1). However, the author believes the inconspicuous suggestions of women inferiority should not go unnoticed. For instance, she notes how at first, the gender of the narrator is undefined, but when a woman is first recognized, it is through the point of view of a male. This reinforces the dependency women should have on men. Furthermore, Deery claims that Huxley associates technology with masculinity....

Words: 531 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

1984

...Performance treatment Tongtong Zhang I believe the play 1984 by George Orwell is representational. According to the definition of representational acting, representational style of acting provide audience an illusion of watching a representation of life. A representational set generally form a type of reality setting. We need a lot of actors, costumes and props for representational acting. For example, the scene should be happened in a hard, bare room. Therefore, the stage is set up like a room. There are tables, chairs, one telescreen, and lots of posters. All these setups are trying to convince the audience what they see is a hard, bare room where the story happened. Also, there are 12 actors to play 12 different roles. Moreover, the representational set is more suitable for a realism play. Representational acting doesn’t require interaction between actors and audiences. It is as though the audience doesn’t even exist; they are separated from the stage and the actor is unaware of the audience’s presence. In contrast of representational acting, presentational is a term which use to emphasize theatricality and acknowledges the theatre as theatre. In presentational setting there is no illusion. In presentational theatre, epic stories can be told with a minimum number of actors and a few costumes and props. There are several conflicts exist in this play and I want to talk about the central conflict first. The central conflict in a play is the main problem in the story. The...

Words: 1786 - Pages: 8