Round Characters
According to the well-known human rights activist, Malcolm X, “We are fighting for the right to live as free humans in this society. In fact, we are actually fighting for rights that are even greater than civil rights and that is human rights” (Malcolm). Human rights is the topic of the two eye-opening stories: 1984 by George Orwell and “The Train from Rhodesia” by Nadine Gordimer. In 1984, Winston, in a desperate attempt to rebel against the tyranny of Big Brother, has a rebellious love affair with Julia and gets caught, tortured, and brainwashed into loving Big Brother instead. In “The Train from Rhodesia”, a young white lady wanted to buy a carved lion statue from a black merchant at an impoverished train stop, but the racist society she
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The content is equally important. There are many literary elements throughout each of these stories, and some even occur in both, such as the appearance of round characters. The main characters in both 1984 and “The Train from Rhodesia” are round characters, meaning that they undergo change and end up different by the end of the story. In the opening pages of 1984, Winston commits “thought-crime” and has a rebellious heart towards his government. As the events unfold, he is tortured for his crimes until he is brainwashed into having unwavering compliance and love towards his government instead. Likewise, the lady in “The Train from Rhodesia” is a round character since she shows moral and character development when she understands the true value of the carved lion and the culture in which it came …show more content…
1984 takes place sometime in the future in the fictional country of Oceania, which is present day England. The citizens of Oceania are in a state of war with the other two world powers Eastasia and Eurasia and are living in extreme poverty. Bombs and explosions go off commonly and unexpectedly. The homes are in shambles both physically and relationally, and the citizens are starved both physically and intellectually. Similarly, the citizens of Rhodesia in the story “The Train from Rhodesia” are starved intellectually. The setting of the story is South Africa in the 1950’s. This was the era of apartheid, in which blacks were robbed of the right to choose where they wanted to live, the right to vote, and so much
The content is equally important. There are many literary elements throughout each of these stories, and some even occur in both, such as the appearance of round characters. The main characters in both 1984 and “The Train from Rhodesia” are round characters, meaning that they undergo change and end up different by the end of the story. In the opening pages of 1984, Winston commits “thought-crime” and has a rebellious heart towards his government. As the events unfold, he is tortured for his crimes until he is brainwashed into having unwavering compliance and love towards his government instead. Likewise, the lady in “The Train from Rhodesia” is a round character since she shows moral and character development when she understands the true value of the carved lion and the culture in which it came …show more content…
1984 takes place sometime in the future in the fictional country of Oceania, which is present day England. The citizens of Oceania are in a state of war with the other two world powers Eastasia and Eurasia and are living in extreme poverty. Bombs and explosions go off commonly and unexpectedly. The homes are in shambles both physically and relationally, and the citizens are starved both physically and intellectually. Similarly, the citizens of Rhodesia in the story “The Train from Rhodesia” are starved intellectually. The setting of the story is South Africa in the 1950’s. This was the era of apartheid, in which blacks were robbed of the right to choose where they wanted to live, the right to vote, and so much