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Winston Against Society in 1984

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Winston Against Society in 1984
Evan Blanchette When George Orwell writes 1984he shows a battle between Winston and the society he is in. This situation is something that Winston cannot escape and it is that his death has already been determined by the society around him. He thinks of plans to stop it but none of them will truly work, whether it is through the ‘Brotherhood’ or the proles. The society lets him know that he, too, will become vaporized through the children in London, the telescreens and microphones throughout Oceania, and O’Brien’s involvement with him. These give no hope of ever leaving the sight of Big Brother. With there not actually being a Big Brother that people of Oceania have seen, it is tough for them to be personally caught by him. This is the reason that society brings the children through schooling to become spies and give them ‘toys’ that they use to find out if people are working against the Party. These children terrify Winston because he cannot tell if they are merely playing a game or not. “’Goldstein!’ bellowed the boy as the door closed on him” (Orwell 23). He is leaving the Parsons home at this point and is terribly worried if children can truly see that he is thinking thoughts against Big Brother constantly. With children like this running around Oceania Winston is sure that they will catch him someday, especially if these children are willing to tell on their parents if they hear them saying negative comments in their sleep.
“BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” (Orwell 5). Whoever Big Brother is, he has cameras and microphones in every Party member’s household and every public place, even in nature. This is the best way for Oceania to vaporize those who need to be taken away from history. Winston goes through his life making sure that he shows no apparent sign of disgust or anger at a time of happiness for Oceania. “Every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every moment scrutinized” (Orwell 7). This runs through Winston’s brain at all times,
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