ENG403B ENG404B NC 03 01 1984 Essay M Hirsch
Macey Hirsch
ENG403B: British and World Literature
When Is Someone Considered A Hero? What are the things which make someone a hero? George Orwell once offered this definition of heroism: ordinary people doing whatever they can to change the social systems that do not respect human decency, even with the knowledge that they can’t possibly succeed. In the novel 1984 written by George Orwell; Orwell gives the readers an “everyday” man, Winston Smith, who stands for all the oppressed citizens of Oceania. Through out the novel the reader sees events which show Winston Smith fighting for the people, moreover all his actions throughout the novel reveal Winston Smith’s true colors. The novel 1984 by George Orwell tells the story of the lives of the people of Oceania. Winston Smith, the protagonist of the story, worked for The Party in the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth. He rewrote news articles to make them agree with the Party 's current version of history. The Party was the group which ruled Oceania, they kept track of the citizens; they monitored the citizens thoughts, and arrested and "vaporized" any individual who showed any sign of nonconformity. One sign of nonconformity was having any individual relationships or sexual desire, even between married couples. “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran” (Orwell 3). There were giant posters everywhere to remind the people to conform to the ways of the party. “The instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely” (Orwell 4). There were telescreens everywhere, which were known for being used by the thought police to monitor the citizens actions at any time. Life for the citizens of Oceania was oppressive, they were scared to do anything that was against The Party. The ruling class was said to have a better life than others, but Winston Smith was considered a member of ruling class and his life was no better than any other citizens
ENG403B: British and World Literature
When Is Someone Considered A Hero? What are the things which make someone a hero? George Orwell once offered this definition of heroism: ordinary people doing whatever they can to change the social systems that do not respect human decency, even with the knowledge that they can’t possibly succeed. In the novel 1984 written by George Orwell; Orwell gives the readers an “everyday” man, Winston Smith, who stands for all the oppressed citizens of Oceania. Through out the novel the reader sees events which show Winston Smith fighting for the people, moreover all his actions throughout the novel reveal Winston Smith’s true colors. The novel 1984 by George Orwell tells the story of the lives of the people of Oceania. Winston Smith, the protagonist of the story, worked for The Party in the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth. He rewrote news articles to make them agree with the Party 's current version of history. The Party was the group which ruled Oceania, they kept track of the citizens; they monitored the citizens thoughts, and arrested and "vaporized" any individual who showed any sign of nonconformity. One sign of nonconformity was having any individual relationships or sexual desire, even between married couples. “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran” (Orwell 3). There were giant posters everywhere to remind the people to conform to the ways of the party. “The instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely” (Orwell 4). There were telescreens everywhere, which were known for being used by the thought police to monitor the citizens actions at any time. Life for the citizens of Oceania was oppressive, they were scared to do anything that was against The Party. The ruling class was said to have a better life than others, but Winston Smith was considered a member of ruling class and his life was no better than any other citizens
Cited: Orwell, George. 1984. Print.