George Orwell And Winston Smith In Dilemma: Rebellion And Compromise Of Individuals In A Totalitarian World

Published in 1949, Nineteen Eighty-Four has been esteemed as Orwell's masterpiece. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell presents a nightmarish world where extremely brutal and ruthless oppression of humanity is carried out by a totalitarian regime. The novel warns us of the huge damage despotism can do to people's normal life.Orwell claimed that it is the obligation of writers to fight against social injustice, oppression and the power of totalitarian regimes. His understanding of politics was never rigid and had nothing to do with narrow doctrines. He only expressed the inside feelings as an individual and did not follow any ideology or political party. There was only one theme among the various forms of totalitarianism which he fought against, and that was the dilemma of individuals and their tragic fate in trying for salvation. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell created the figure Winston Smith who has long been regarded as the projection of Orwell himself. They both went through struggles and compromises when confronted with totalitarianism and their own limitations. But Orwell triumphs in the end through his artistic creations. This thesis seeks to reveal the behavior and fate of individuals in a totalitarian world through comparing the experiences of George Orwell with those of in Nineteen Eighty-Four.The originality of the thesis lies in three aspects:first, for the first time the life experiences of George Orwell and those of one of his characters are compared against the background of totalitarianism, to reveal the reasons for their achievements and failures; second, the comparison sheds some light on what individuals, alone, can do and what they can achieve in a totalitarian world; three, the study provides a new angle for exploring Orwell's political ideology with regard to totalitarianism and his motives for writing the novel.This thesis consists of three chapters in addition to an introduction and a conclusion. The introduction presents George Orwell's literary achievements and the social background for writing Nineteen Eighty-Four. It also surveys current research on Orwell and the novels and outlines the aim and the structure of the thesis. Chapter one consists of three parts. In the first part, through an analysis of Orwell's essay "Such, Such Were the Joys", a conclusion is reached that Orwell had a strong anti-authority sense from his school years in St. Cyprian's, which accounts much for Orwell's hatred to totalitarianism in his later life. The second part reviews Orwell's long journey from an imperial police man in Burma to a fighter against totalitarianism. The last part describes Orwell's limitations as a political writer. In Chapter Two, the discussion focuses on the protagonist Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, underscoring his rebellion and compromise. After introducing the nightmarish society he lives in, the chapter discusses Winston's self-seeking and self-salvation and finally his eventual compromise. Chapter Three analyzes the reasons for Orwell's and Winston's compromises and discusses the responsibility of individuals in a totalitarian society. In the conclusion, the thesis is generalized and summarized. It is concluded that in their own actions, Orwell and Winston are great annotations to their understanding of the responsibilities as an individual in a totalitarian world.