AP Literature
30 August
Character Analysis of Winston Smith from 1984 Winston Smith, George Orwell’s main character from 1984, contributes greatly to the novel in many ways. While he is presented to be a simple man, Winston adds many complex ideas to the classic piece of literature. Orwell uses internal and external characteristics, symbols, and significant quotes to develop Winston’s role in 1984. Internal Characteristics are a big part of the development of a main character and ideas relating to the character. They let the reader have a better idea of the character’s personality, beliefs, and motives. One of Winston Smith’s internal characteristics is curiosity, he is curious about many different things through the whole book. …show more content…

The symbols ultimately allow the reader to understand more about Winston’s internal characteristics, just in a more unique way. Quotes are a big part of any novel’s development but quotes can also play a huge role in the development of a character. Quotations allow the readers to see a glimpse of the characters mind and feelings. Winston Smith has many lines in the novel but there are some key ones that have a deeper meaning than just words. At the end of the novel Winston is going through torture because of his rebellion to “the Party”. Winston has begged and pleaded, and betrayed people but he takes pride in not doing one thing; betraying Julia. That is his final act of rebellion, not betraying Julia because that is exactly what they want him to do, it is what they are pushing him towards. Finally after being faced with rats which are his biggest fear, he breaks: “Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia! I don’t care what you do to her. Tear her face off, strip her to the bones. Not me! Julia! Not me!”(Book 3, Chapter 6, page 286). This is one of the most significant quotes in the whole novel because this is where Winston loses his battle with the state, and from this point on he will never be free in his mind again. Another reason this is symbolic is because for Winston Julia represents hope and escape, by betraying Julia he betrays hope. Quotes are not always things that are said, they are also things that are read or realized or even wrote.