Orwell named his hero after Winston Churchill, England's great
leader during World War II. He added the world's commonest last
name: Smith. The ailing, middle-aged rebel can be considered in many
different lights.
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1. You'll have to decide for yourself whether Winston is a hero in
his secret battle with Big Brother, or whether he's only a sentimental
man with a death wish, who courts his death openly through an
illegal love affair and through his alliance with the enemies of Big
Brother.

a. If Winston is a 20th-century hero, it seems logical for him to
keep a diary even though he knows it will hang him. It is right for
him to follow his heart and have an affair with Julia. He is doing the
only possible thing by seeking out O'Brien and joining the
Brotherhood, which is committed to overthrowing Big Brother. Naturally
he will defy authorities even after he is captured and tortured,
trying to keep one last shred of personality intact.

b. If he's so heroic, why is he so foolhardy? It makes no sense
for him to create a permanent love-nest when he knows it will speed
his capture. "It was as though they were intentionally stepping nearer
to their graves," he thinks. A careful man would never open up to
O'Brien without knowing whether he is to be trusted. You can argue
that Winston's continuing defiance of the Party after his capture is
one more way of courting disaster. Do you think Winston secretly
enjoys torture? Although he confesses to everything they want him
to, he extends the torture by continuing his inner defiance- something
the Party seems to know. Winston's thoughts in Part Two, Section IV,
point to this interpretation.
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2. You can learn more about Winston by considering his view of sex
as a means of rebellion. He's divorced because his wife couldn't
produce the baby the Party expects, and wouldn't consider sex for
any other purpose because desire is Thoughtcrime. He is drawn to Julia
because she is "corrupt," which means she enjoys sex and has
previously taken several lovers. Knowing he will be punished, he falls
in love with her. Winston's ideal partner for the future is not Julia,
but the mountainous prole woman who hangs out the laundry for her many children. Another of Winston's ideal women, whom Winston writes
about in his diary, is the refugee mother protecting her child with
her own body. Orwell may be arguing that woman-as-mother is to be
honored, but any other kind of love is to be punished.
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3. Is the real love affair in Winston's mind, and is it with
O'Brien? O'Brien is on Winston's mind in Part One, Section I.
Winston dreams about him in One, Section II, when O'Brien says, "We
shall meet in the place where there is no darkness." In Three, I, this
dream is fulfilled in an astonishing way. Does O'Brien stand for
hope or for the fulfillment of Winston's death wish? Does he seek
him out precisely to bring about his capture? Look at Part Three,
Sections I, II, III and IV, where Winston is captured and brainwashed.
He doesn't hate or resist O'Brien. Instead the two minds are locked in
a bizarre courtship. Winston respects his destroyer as he never
respects Julia.
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4. Winston's ideas about class lines tell us something about his
values, and Orwell's.

a. Winston despises his middle-class neighbors, the Parsons. He
bitterly resents and envies the lower classes because they are
vital, physical and mindlessly happy. They are also slightly gross
to him- particularly the huge woman with the laundry. He sees the
underclass as the hope for the future, yet recognizes that they have
neither the brains nor the means to start a revolution. What's more,
he doesn't like them well enough to join them, or even enough to
disappear among them. Why doesn't he run away to the ghetto? BECAUSE
HE IS NOT LIKE THEM.

b. O'Brien is his ideal, even after O'Brien starts brainwashing
Winston. O'Brien is a member of the Inner Party, polished and
sophisticated, and so high up in the organization that he enjoys a
handsome, comfortable apartment and a servant. Does this reflect
some hidden attitude of Orwell's that conflicts with his role as
defender of the masses?
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5. Nostalgia for the past is central to Winston's rebellion. He
alone seems to remember that there was life before the Party; to
remember the now vanished rural landscape, to pine for the mother he
betrayed. The antique diary he buys; the old-fashioned paperweight
that is central to the story; his recurring dreams and memories- all
make him different. Is Winston really trying to design a new future,
or does he want to get back into the past, where it's safe?
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6. Some people think Winston is really George Orwell dressed up in a
blue Party uniform. He seems to have some of Orwell's ailments, and
many of the same worries, and he lives an active inner life as
Orwell did at St. Cyprian's. On the other hand, Winston finally
crumples under pressure from the Party, whereas Orwell fought
illness to finish his stunning novel. Do you think Winston is really
only an extension of Orwell, or is he a full-blown character living
a life of his own, in order that he can carry Orwell's warning about
the dangers of totalitarianism to the public? You can argue either
way.

Winston, as a character, is complex and troublesome because the
author has used words to create a living, breathing person. Perhaps
the most important question you'll decide for yourself is: Does this
man deserve what happens to him? Could he have escaped if he had tried
hard enough? Did he or did he not get what he wanted? Again, it's your
decision.
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JULIA

Unlike Winston, Julia is basically a simple woman, something of a
lightweight who loves her man and uses sex for fun as well as for
rebellion. She is perfectly willing to accept the overnight changes in
Oceania's history and doesn't trouble her pretty head about it. If Big
Brother says black is white, fine. If he says two and two make five,
no problem. She may not buy the Party line, but it doesn't trouble
her. She falls asleep over Winston's reading of the treasured book
by Goldstein. Revolutionary doctrine? Zzzzz. The act is enough for
her; she doesn't need a rationale.

Orwell draws Winston's love object lovingly. Julia is all woman,
sharp and funny as she is attractive, but she may also be a reflection
of the author's somewhat limited view of the opposite sex. It might be
useful to look at her more carefully. Is she the one-sided creation of
a male author?
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1. Julia may be lovable precisely because she stands for something
forbidden. Perhaps the author thinks sexually active women are for
fun, and only mothers are to be looked up to! Do the lovers Winston
and Julia have much to talk about? (Read Part Two, I, IV and V
before making up your mind.)
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