"1984" Character Crafter Question
Throughout the novel "1984", the main character, Winston Smith, constantly comments to his lover, Julia, that he would never betray her and would never give her up for anything. If this love is seemingly 'true', then why does Winston betray Julia in the blink of an eye when faced with torture?
Fear can drive a person to make irrational decisions. "The worst thing in the world," said O'Brien, "varies from individual to individual. It may be burial alive, or death by fire, or by drowning, or by impalement, or fifty other deaths. There are cases where it is some quite trivial thing, not even fatal... In your case," said O'Brien, "the worst thing in the world happens to be rats" (Orwell 233). O'Brien describes Winston's fear of rats; "But for everyone there is something unendurable- something that cannot be contemplated. Courage and cowardice are involved. If you are falling from a height it is not cowardly to clutch at a rope. If you have come from deep water it is not cowardly to fill your lungs with air. It is merely an instinct which cannot be disobeyed. It is the same with rats. For you, are unendurable. They are a form of pressure that you cannot withstand, even if you wish to. You will do what is required of you" (Orwell 234). Even Julia's and Winston's love is "true" there are forces that can tear them apart. Also, the party believes that real "true" love is a threat and uses their power to separate Winston and Julia.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great comment! I agree with what you're saying; constantly in books and movies, we see ordinary people become 'great heroes' and we think to ourselves, "gee I wish I could be that brave, etc.". But when the time arises for us to act upon courage, the natural instinct for humans is to run away.
Delete~Isabelle
The reasoning behind Winston's irrational behavior is explained later when he and Julia meet. As they are talking, Julia says, "Sometimes they threaten you with something...something you can't stand up to, can't even think about...You think there's no other way of saving yourself and you're quite ready to save yourself that way. You want it to happen to the other person... You don't give a damn what they suffer. All you care about is yourself" (Orwell 240). This shows that there came a point during the torture where Winston was not prepared to go through those things just for someone else, that he'd rather someone else suffer instead of him. This shows where his human natuer kicks in, the will to survive and that people will often do just about anything to live. The torture got to a point where he wasn't willing to go through it when he could just have it done to someone else and all of his pain would go away.
ReplyDelete(No Grade) Jordan brings up a very good point. Humans, by nature, are weak. We aren't heroes, and when Winston was declaring his unfailing love for Julia, he was trying to be the hero. The Party has relentless methods of getting people to surrender. One of the torture rooms was so awful that subjects exclaim "Anything but Room 101!" (Orwell 237) as an effort to escape the inexplicable pain. I think Winston meant what he said, because he didn't realize the extent of the surreal fear he faced when at the hands of the Party. But when the time came, he just couldn't do it; he couldn't be the hero; and he had to surrender Julia in his place.
ReplyDeleteWinston endured many torturous experiences in the ministry of love before betraying Julia, and never wavered in his feeling for her until his worst "fear" was presented to him, at that point he was really more subconciously or instinctually protecting himself, (self preservation) he didn't want to betray her, but he acted without thinking. This reaction could have happened to anyone else "The worst thing in the world," said O'Brien, "varies from individual to individual" (Orwell 233).His irrational fear of rats was the only thing that could break his spirit and make him betray Julia, it was O'briens last ditch effort. He was either gonna give in or die. In the end, Winston only gave in because it is natural for humans to protect themselves first and others after. Those who would willing go through with that most likely have a neruological disorder or they feel the need to be punished. If Julia was in Winston's place, she would have probably held out for as long as Winston, but that room could probably have broken her too.
ReplyDeleteGreat comment. I like how you include Julia into the conversation about fear, it seems that most readers only care about Winston's decision. I also think that if Julia would have been subject to Room 101, she too would've cracked under fear or pressure. A few days ago i had this question in mind and thought about the possible turn of events if Julia would've been taken to Room 101 instead of Winston. What torture do you think the Party would've used against Julia?
Delete~Isabelle
They might have horribly disfigured her, or instead of torturing Winston in private, maybe in front of her, because she might have feared losing Winston, it really could be anything.
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