Heroism Of Winston In George Orwell's 1984

In 1984, George Orwell portrays the dystopian society of Oceania through the eyes of Winston Smith. Winston is a “loyal” Party member, who works in the Ministry of Truth. Here, he changes historical files to fit the opinions of his “leader”, Big Brother. From the first page of 1984, Winston constantly portrays his hatred and distrust for The Party; however, he has one major flaw. That is, that he never acts upon his feelings. Compared to V and Edward Snowden, Winston Smith clearly does not portray the qualities of a heroic character. As seen throughout the novel, Winston does not openly revolt. Instead, he just sneaks around writing in his diary. His first act of rebellion against the government is his purchase of a diary in which he writes …show more content…
Shortly after Winston is placed in a jail cell, he thought that “the [razor] blade would bite into him with a certain burning coldness” (Orwell 229). Winston desperately hoped that someone would deliver to him a razor blade so that he could commit suicide. Through this situation, it is clear that Winston is neither courageous nor brave, which is the complete opposite of what a hero is expected to be. As seen in V for Vendetta, V and even Evey were willing to surrender their life for their cause; however, Winston clearly was not. He lived a majority of his life hating Big Brother, and finally decided to give everything up. He succumbed and did exactly what O’Brien and The Party wanted. One afternoon, Winston is seen sitting at the Chestnut Tree Café, drinking gin and listening to Big Brother from the telescreens. On a table, Winston “unconsciously traced with his finger in the dust [that] 2+2=5” (Orwell 290). Here, he is completely content, and now accepts all that the Party says and does. Essentially, Winston has died in that he has become brainwashed and now believes the propaganda that The Party tells him. In the end, Winston has completely changed and