Brotherhood In 1984

Improved Essays
Winston Smith silently struggles to free himself from the ever present power of authoritative Big Brother in George Orwell’s 1984. Winston longs to participate in the impending revolution with the mysterious group he idolizes, the Brotherhood. Believing the Party should be overthrown, Winston frequently commits thoughtcrime through various means, such as owning a journal or committing adultery with Julia, though he is far more dedicated to the cause than her. His hatred of the Party draws him to Emmanuel Goldstein and his insurgent group, the Brotherhood. Winston’s acts of rebellion begin with purchasing a diary and progress and the opportunities emerge. Winston assesses the risk of writing in the diary as he opens it, and continues writing, knowing it will lead to his death. His writing “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” (18) asserts his position as a Party enemy. Winston’s critical thinking and ability to question the Party distinguishes him as unusually astute for an Oceanic citizen. After he does get caught, the Party ultimately prevails in transforming Winston into a compliant Party member. This metamorphosis shows how even the most defiant person can become submissive as a result of the constant power struggle. …show more content…
His secret love for the Brotherhood is hidden well from the Thoughtpolice, Winston takes part in Two Minutes Hate, spewing hate just as any other citizen would. “The conspiracy that he had dreamed of did exist, and he had reached the outer edges of it” (159). After speaking to O’Brien for the first time, Winston truly feels that he has an ally in the world, one who has the same desire to overthrow the Party. He admits to his dedication to the Brotherhood as soon as he talks to O’Brien at his flat, hoping that this will lead him to Goldstein and the Brotherhood. To belong to a group of rational, likeminded people is Winston’s goal in pursuing the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    He didn’t question his existence or why the government works in mysterious ways, until he attends the Two Minutes Hate, where it shows a picture of a leader of another country. The crowd then proceeds to scream in agony and as the picture slowly turns to Big Brother, the crowd rejoices. Winston’s subordinate, O’Brien looks at him with confusion, and thought about the same question, why? This is where Winston begins to question the entire government and how it works. Its separate branches with ironic names, the Two Minute Hate, everything comes into question with one glaring look of a comrade.…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    1984 Dialectical Journal

    • 1545 Words
    • 7 Pages

    During his brief meeting with O’Brien in the hallway at the Ministry of Truth, Winston is anxious and excited. O’Brien alludes to Syme and tells Winston that he can see a Newspeak dictionary if he will come to O’Brien’s house one evening. Winston feels that his meeting with O’Brien continues a path in his life begun the day of his first rebellious thought. He thinks gloomily that this path will lead him to the Ministry of Love, where he expects to be killed. Though he accepts his fate, he is thrilled to have O’Brien’s address.…

    • 1545 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Canteen Eighty-Four 1984

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages

    O’Brien asks Winston and Julia if they want to join the Brotherhood (a group of rebels that work against Big Brother) and if they are willing take all the risk just for the Brotherhood. At this point, Winston is still full of hope; hope to get his freedom back and live without the oppression of the government. However, it turns out that O’Brien had simply played with Winston, and reported everything that he did as a member of a Thoughtpolice, and arrested him and Julia. He tortures Winston and completely wipe out his emotions and thoughts in slow steps and fills it back with the love of Big Brother. In the process, Winston betrays Julia by asking O’Brien to torture her instead himself.…

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Winston begins his rebellion when he starts writing his ideas and thoughts in his diary:” The thing I was going to do was to open a diary. This was not illegal(nothing was illegal, since there were no longer any laws), but if detected it was reasonably certain that it would be punished by death, or at least by twenty-five years in a forced-labour camp. ”(9) To start off, buying a diary is a thoughtcrime. Next, he expands his rebellion as he begins to writes stories, his thoughts, opinions, ideas, and feelings.…

    • 816 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Alternate Ending For 1984

    • 2340 Words
    • 10 Pages

    “ It is true, the Brotherhood is a made up group created the Party, but it is used to strengthen the bonds between the people and the Party, to make them think there are traitors in their midst, so they eventually trust no one but the Party, making their loyalty strong and unbreakable”. “So why me?” asked Winston. “Because,” said O’Brien, “no other before you have survived the trials before giving into Big Brother. They either gave in and were able to reenter into society or died before the end of the torture, before we would shoot them”. “But you, Winston” said O'Brien with a hint of pride in his voice, “You are the only one to survive the trials and still have your free will.…

    • 2340 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1984 Character Analysis

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Do you ever feel like you need to do something but you just don’t know what it is? Imagine this, but if you don 't figure out what it is, you get physically and mentally tortured. This is what happens to Winston Smith in 1984 after he has been caught going against his government 's ideas. Since Winston is tortured physically and mentally, he has no choice but to conforms to the Party’s ideals.…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Rebels throughout history have posed as a threat to society through challenging societal norms and advocating for something different, a change. In George Orwell’s novel, 1984, Winston Smith is a rebel who does not conform to the unconscious and homogeneous people of which society consists. Instead, Winston rebels through his acts of suspicion; however, he does not bring about reform but becomes one with society as humanity and individuality finally dissipates. The act of preserving humanity is to hold onto the quality or state of being human along with the impulses and instincts that are associated with it.…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    These actions and motivations are finally explained during the tortured arguments between Winston and O'brien in the ministry of love when O’brien completely picks apart Winston’s logic and twists it to make him believe in Big Brother. O’brien, who stands for everything Winston is against symbolizes the party. He believes that Winston is insane and that he must be fixed. The whole last part of the book is about Winston trying to resist giving over to O’brian’s twisted logic, trying to resist being brainwashed. In fact, throughout the whole book he is found resisting brainwashing, trying to figure out what is true and what is lies fed to him by the party.…

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1984 describes a story of a dystopian society in Oceania, where a man named Winston, lives. This man contrasts with the whole of the Party, as he understands that Party deceives the people and makes them believe that everything told to them equals truth. George Orwell often utilizes a main character, who differs from all others, to highlight values of the society within which the character lives in his other novels. In the case of 1984, Orwell brings Winston into the novel to display all things wrong with his society. George Orwell uses Winston’s class standing alongside his feelings to create this alienation, which reveals the society’s moral values.…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    1984 Betrayal

    • 1313 Words
    • 6 Pages

    He loved Big Brother” (Orwell 297). After everything Winston had gone through, including his relationship with Julia, he betrays almost everyone, even himself. This ultimate betrayal not only ruins all that he had done, but will most likely return to the common theme of loneliness due to the fact that…

    • 1313 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to Winston, “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two makes four. If that is granted, all else follows (Orwell 103).” This concept is the central idea posed within the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Orwell’s dystopian future presents a frightening reality in which human rights are considered criminal in nature and unnecessary for society. The tyrannical leading group, known as the Party, controls every aspect of human life for the sake of power, therefore eliminating free will.…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Every move made by Winston is in line with getting closer to the Brotherhood and bringing down Big Brother. O'Brien asks Winston if he is willing to “cheat, to forge, to blackmail, to corrupt the minds of children [...] to do anything which is likely to cause demoralization and weaken the power of the party”(Orwell 172) to which Winston replies he “yes. ”(Orwell 172).Winston is not afraid to question authority and join an underground revolution against the overwhelming threat of death and torture, that is what makes Winston smith a hero. Lastly, Winston Smith rebels against the government by purchasing a paperweight. The paperweight is something that he finds beautiful, it does not serve an essential purpose.…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Brought into the Ministry of Love, Winston is endures torture and mind control in effort to invert his mindset. He battles to resist O’Brien’s influence and maintain his individuality. Winston’s attempt and constant struggle to remain in control of his fate is evident through his relationship with Julia, his memories, and through his logic as O’Brien molds Winston, through manipulation, into the perfect citizen. Firstly, Winston, as he enters the Ministry of Love, is a prime example of a deviant citizen…

    • 1459 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Even so, he recognizes the manipulation Big Brother uses and rebels. While both characters possess these similar attributes, only one individual succeeds in conquering oppression, and the other is forced to conform to what is orthodox. Though Winston is defiant, his mentality is not strong enough to endure the torture and manipulation that follows after he is caught. O’Brien, the man in whom Winston puts his faith, forces Winston’s mind to obey him by means of physical and mental torment. In the end, Winston really believes that he loves Big Brother, and once again becomes one like the masses.…

    • 1607 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The authors of 1984 and The Metamorphosis both create the message that no one can conform to society's expectations by demonstrating various issues. Winston Smith in 1984 and Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis both are unhappy with aspects of their jobs. The authors also create problems for the main characters socially, be it friends or family. With problems like those, the characters face internal issues as to what their actions should be. Winston shows signs of being hopeful that society can change.…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays