Examples Of Heroism In 1984

Winston Smith as a Flawed Hero Within the first few pages of George Orwell’s 1984, one can determine that this is not a normal place by any means. One’s mind starts to paint the scene of a cold, dark, and gloomy place where a uniform society exists. At first, this so-called Oceania, seems very distant with no current relations to the world we live in today, but the one constant within the two is what it means to be a hero. Overtime the concept of a hero hasn’t changed in itself, but the deeds people do to claim the title have certainly altered with circumstances. From the very beginning of Orwell’s book, he creates a timeline of heroic actions through the character of Winston living in a society where being a hero isn’t allowed.

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This relationship has many readers taken by surprise, due to Winston’s initial hatred toward her. But, as time goes on it becomes clear that Winston hates Julia out of envy because she has something Winston doesn’t: composure, adolescence, and boldness. We eventually find out they have more in common than initially thought. To begin, Winston and Julia are both individuals that seek to rebel against the party, even though their motives are different. Winston’s rebellion is selfless. While on the other hand, Julia’s rebellion seems to be more self-fulfilling with regards to her own sexual desires. This also takes many readers by surprise due to her scarlet anti-sex waist sash that is ultimate used to “disguise her true actions” (Shmoop.com). While knowing the consequences of pursuing a relationship with Julia, Winston decides to carry on regardless. I believe Winston is having a natural desire to know what love feels like. In the past, Winston has hated women because they always seemed to be the parties’ greatest advocates and could never be trusted with knowledge of Winston’s thoughts. Winston also wants to have someone he can trust regarding his opinions about the party, a teammate per say. Once they engage in sexual acts, the experimentation is over and the begin to fall in love. Not only that, but they have both violated the anti-sex codes put in place by the party. I believe this rebellious act performed together bonded them equally as much as the act alone. Winston’s relationship with Julia is an act of heroism because it is a strive towards the truth of life, sexuality, and emotion. All things the people of Oceania have been sheltered from. It is also heroic because Winston is well aware of the consequences, but continually seeks the truth, for himself and for generations to