Melissa Wengler

Period 7
Mrs. Farr
English 12
Whats The Point?
Whats the point of living without any love, compassion, or freedom from society?
Whats the world good for when human connections and instincts are restricted from the
rest of the world. In George Orwells science fiction novel, 1984, Winston is living in that
world, and he feels trapped in Big Brothers corrupted society. Built up feelings of hate,
anger, and confusion take over and cause acts of rebellion to express his discontent
and dissatisfaction with his life. On this journey to self discovery, Winstons first start to
rebel started when he bought a diary, knowing the risk of getting caught was punishable
by death if anyone knew. Despite the consequences, Winston knew his purpose in life
was not to obey the laws and live a boring, terrible, constricted lonely life.

1984 is haunting in the ways Big Brother was a tyrannical figure by the way he
manipulated the people into worshipping and following his terrible laws of life. Big
Brother is also not a person, but a name for the embodiment of the government, to
create a world where feelings of fear and torment replace love and happiness. Human
wants and needs are not allowed in their society: Do you begin to see, then, what kind
of world we are creating?... progress in our world will be progress towards more pain
in our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self abasement.
(268). The party aspires to create a world unlike any other, where the only loyalty
accepted is loyalty to the party. Through Winstons journey of discovery and
enlightenment, he realizes all these human emotions hes never felt, and his hatred to
the party only gets stronger.

One of the scariest factors that take part in rebelling is the fear towards the things
were unable to control and change ourselves. Through Winstons new transformation,
even before he met Julia, his ultimate goal was to gain knowledge, and after meeting
his love Julia, hes already broken the law, which broke his way of thinking towards Big
Brother. Societys values are now worthless to him. Through his encounters and time
spent with Julia, he slowly starts to see the world and his life in a different way, which
hes never felt before. No ones supposed to feel anything like that according to Big
Brother. Julia gives him the discovery of a different view of life. The paperweight was
the room he was in, and the coral was Julias life and his own, fixed in a sort of eternity
at the heart of the crystal. (312). Although he does not have full freedom in the physical
world, his mind will always find the truth now.
 In Winstons reality, he knew his thoughts and morals were now what kept him
human. He felt love and affection from Julia, how could someone want to give that up in
a society as corrupt as his? To think, to think, even with a split second left- to think was
the only hope. (299). Winston now starts to face his fears with thought, rather than the
partys rules. He cannot change the world by what he knew was right. In the end, the
Party can take anything they wish, but Winston found the truth he was searching for.
1984 is a tale of a tragic rebellion love story when faced in a dystopian society. Where
the only option Winston has is to rebel against how the government influences their
society, human emotions and passion take over. 1984 shows the limits of rebellion and
how insignificant Winstons most important actions were taken in the face of a
totalitarian state.

Other people who have read this book may argue that Winston and Julia werent
actually in love, and they both just wanted to rebel in any way they could. Love in itself
is the ultimate rebellion. The party doesnt care about sex, they care about the emotions
that go along. The party has effectively abolished all human relationships and only
allows relationships between themselves and other individuals. And even though theres
a very strong dystopian setting, there is love, and there is a journey of self discovery for
both of them.

Self discovery and growth can be very complicated, especially in the face of Big
Brother. To gain knowledge and understanding with yourself, certain criteria is required.
Even with the most important thoughts and actions that can take place, sometimes
people still will not understand. This is when rebellion takes place, through anger and
dissatisfaction. As long as you know what is right, and why youre feeling the way you
are, its good to express yourself when society isnt understanding the reality of a
situation thats ever going on.

Works Cited
Reynolds, Malcolm. A Rebellious Spirit, TV Tropes, 13 May 2013.

Numeroff, Laura If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Felicia Bond. 1985

Orwell, George. 1984: Harvill Secker, 1949.