Winston Smith Case

1984

The novel 1984 is a story about Winston Smith, a member of the Party that is ruling over the state of Oceania. The Party rules under the dictatorship of Big Brother. It is a totalitarianism government so Big Brother controls everything. The reader becomes introduced to the main character Winston and find out about his rebellious feelings against the "BIG BROTHER." Winston also happens to be the narrator of the novel. As the novel progresses aside from the oringal problem of the idea of rebelling against the society another one is introduced. That is the problem of love in Winston's society they are not allowed to love that they choose, they can't even show signs of affection towards them. This all changed when a lady named Julie came into the picture. At first Wilson thought that she was a spy little did he know that she actually loved him. After secretly slipping a note to Winston this became clear to him, they arranged to meet of and expressed their love for each other. The only question for them was what to do about it since they were both breaking the rules and would be punished greatly if caught. They resumed to just see each other in secrecy on occasion. This event is also a twist in the plot because not only does only Winston want to rebel Julie also shares the same feelings towards the government as he does. Wilson is no longer alone in his thoughts about a rebellion. the Big Brother catches Winston, but what we don't know is what the Party will do to him, how they'll do it, and to what extent they'll do it. The climax is when we learn that they want more than just confessions and death from the people they catch. The Party wants complete and total belief and the love of those who are rebellious. Therefore, the climax occurs when Winston gives in and admits, "He loved Big Brother". Julia had previously told Winston that Big Brother couldn't get "inside" a person, but we learn by the end that they can control every part of a person, inside and out. It's not enough that Winston agrees, "Two and two make five"; he has to also profess his love for Big Brother. Once he does that, we see Winston's shell of his former self. His hair and teeth are gone, his body's destroyed, he's given a meaningless job, and then he becomes an alcoholic. This is all necessary in order for Oceania to live up to its philosophy: "WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH." The message that I received from the novel is to stand up for what you believe in and live your life to the fullest. Although Winston got caught he had a great time finding love and living how he would like not how someone tells him to. The novel seems pretty realistic. Totalitarianism is such a broad governmental structure, like communism but more involved. Hence making 1984 a dystopia, which is when life is characterized by human misery,