Hope In George Orwell's 1984

In life, people are sometimes presented with harsh realities and difficult choices that cause us to take the most bearable action and hope for the best outcome. A recent example of this would most notably be the presidential election. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were among the least popular candidates ever to run for the presidency in our nation’s history. Yet, once the November 8th election date grew closer, the American people realized that one of these two candidates would ultimately be the president for the next four years. With that acceptance, voters held their breath and selected the candidate they felt would be the lesser of two evils. Fast forward to today, the American public is now anticipating a presidential term lead by Donald …show more content…
The novel takes place in a futuristic dystopia, where the country is divided into two countries known as Oceania and Eurasia. The main character, Winston, resides in Oceania, where totalitarianism is the ruling form of government and its citizens are always monitored, particularly those who are associated with the Party, the name for the government that reigns over Oceania. Winston long hoped for the government’s dismantled, finding his hope in many aspects of his daily life. He finds hope in O’Brien when they exchange glances during the Two Minutes Hate, and Winston assumed O’Brien to share his feelings regarding the Party. Winston also finds hope in Julia, his lover that shares his disdain for the totalitarian government. Winston sees Julia as his means of not only surviving the totalitarian government that rules Oceania but also as a means of rebellion, claiming that their embrace was “a blow struck against the Party” (Orwell 126). However, Winston seems to find the most hope within the proles, the citizens who do not affiliate themselves with the Party or Big Brother. Winston goes as far as noting that if there is hope for a revolt, “it lies in the proles” (Orwell 69). Winston views the proles as free, able to do almost as they please without surveillance of the government. This gives Winston hope for Big Brother’s end, and his own …show more content…
In both scenarios, the hopes and dreams of the main characters will seemingly never be accomplished. In Waiting for Godot, it becomes evident that Vladimir and Estragon will be left waiting day after day, repeating an endless cycle. In 1984, the hopes of the proles’ rebellion lie in their consciousness, which will never come so long as the proles remain comfortable with their lifestyle. In both scenarios, the hope held by the main characters seem almost pointless. Both literary works seem to depict humanity’s hope as merely a means of coping and not a motivating force towards the greater