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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