1984 Essay

Nathaniel Burns-Sarno
English 10 Honors/ Mr. George
March 20, 2009
1984 Essay
Is Winston A Hero?
A hero, by definition, is; “A [person] of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities,” (Dictionary.com). That means that simply committing brave acts is not enough to gain one the title of hero. One must also integrate morality and justice into said acts in order for them to be considered heroic. The act itself is not nearly as important as the purpose behind it. Unfortunately, even when a person goes through with an act that they consider to be heroic, the purpose of their act can blind them from their moral values. History is full of people who chased their dream, only to lose sight of what is truly important; their humanity. For heroes, humanity is especially important. For, how can one be a hero without the ability of feeling sympathy for others? It is for that reason that I believe Winston, the protagonist of George Orwell’s 1984, cannot be considered a hero. Although many who read this novel may believe him to be standing up for what is right, I believe it to only be an act in order to have what he wants. His disguise as a rebel in an unjust society cannot hide the selfishness that runs rampant in his heart. He is simply an ordinary man, who really did not accomplish anything special.
Winston, whose job in life was to rewrite history for the Ministry of Truth, goes through life with a slight suspicion in the back of his mind that what he is doing is wrong, and that the dystopian society he lives in is not fair or just. He even keeps a diary of all his private thoughts, in order to hide them from the Party. This shows (early in the story, at least) that Winston has the concept of fairness and justice. However, he simply goes along with it, showing that while in his heart he strongly disagrees with the society he lives in, he is still wise enough to value his own life. He knows very well the penalty for thoughtcrime, even writing in his diary, “Thoughtcrime does not entail death: thoughtcrime IS death,” (Orwell 28). Keeping a balance between valor and wisdom is often a quality in a good hero, so it makes sense that one would view his inward defiance of the Party as heroic in its own way. However, that is not truly the case, as throughout the novel, it seems everyone has their own feelings of resentment for the party bottled inside them. The only way for Winston to be viewed as a hero in the society he lived in is if everyone else was viewed as a hero, too. If everyone was a hero, no one would be. Without victims in need of saving, heroes would have no purpose. As I stated earlier, one must have a purpose in order to be a hero.
Another argument proclaiming Winston as a hero is sprouted from his love for Julia. After all, anyone willing to do anything for the one they love without fear of the consequences must have a kind, brave heart. I myself believed this not too long ago. That was until I became familiar with Winston’s cluttered room of a mind. It is one thing to put your own life in danger for the one you love, but pulling them under the bus with you seems to express an emotion unlike love. Both Winston and Julia knew that their relationship was wrong, and considered illegal by the party. They knew that if they were caught together, the consequences would be unthinkable. However, that did not stop them from seeing each other on a daily basis. It is reasonable for lovers to desire each other’s company without even considering how it is viewed by the rest of the world. Those who are truly in love, on the other hand, value the happiness and well-being of each other much higher than their relationship. If they had even the slightest bit of actual love for each other, they would have gone their separate ways. Winston’s affection for Julia seems much too selfish, as if he does not allow himself to ponder for too long whether or not he is putting her in danger. A true hero would not think twice about the situation, and immediately end the relationship in order to secure the well-being of the one they love.
The third(and in my opinion, the most logical) argument for Winston’s heroics is that he completely goes against a society that he very well knows could erase him from existence. However, the things he is willing to do in order to bring down Oceania seem to outweigh the injustices the society has put its people through. When asked what he would be willing to do in order to fight the party, Winston accepts the possibilities of murder, sabotage that would cause the deaths of hundreds of innocent people, disseminate venereal diseases, and even throw sulphuric acid in the face of a child. The willingness to do any one of the things on that fails to demonstrate the qualities of a hero. They do, however, demonstrate the qualities of a villain. This shows that Winston’s ideas of fairness and justice have changed since the beginning of the novel, and not for the better. He is indeed no hero. However, I actually could not go as far as to call him, or any character in this novel, an actual villain. They are simply average people who were made victims of their dystopian society. In a world like that, there are no villains or heroes. There are people who live, and people who die.
The fact that Winston, while being threatened with starved rats to his face, would cry out, “Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia! I don’t care what you do to her. Tear her face of, strip her to the bones. Not me! Julia! Not me!” (286), serves as the final nail in the coffin that serves as my argument. A hero is someone who protects others, no matter who they are, even if it costs him his life. Winston does the exact opposite, selling out Julia to save himself. The fact that Winston was romantically involved with Julia only makes the situation worse. In the end, he gave up. That is something no hero worth his salt would ever do.
Winston is no hero. He is an average man who did nothing that others before him had not done already. The only difference is that the novel is centered around him. I truly believe that had the novel been centered around any other character, there would be much more similarities than differences.