Winston's Emotional Battle in 1984 Essay

1984

When someone meets a person who understands their secret motives, a comforting feeling arises within the person. In 1984, by George Orwell the main character, Winston, is confronted with an emotional battle. He is under the rule of an organization that does not allow personal opinion or feelings of any sort. Although he should not give into the feelings to disobey Big Brother, he does even though he knows that there would be dire consequences if he is caught. He gave into many temptations, leading him to disastrous punishment. However, he learned what he needed in life from his mistakes. Winstons feelings towards OBrien proved that a true understanding is what he wanted in his life; this shows peoples dependence on the truth for comfort and guidance.

In the beginning of the novel, everyone in The Ministry of Truth, where Winston worked, was chanting as though it is the pledge of allegiance to Big Brother. When something extraordinary happened, Winston caught a glimpse of OBrien, who is another employee at The Ministry of Truth and worked with Winston, and he felt a connection. Momentarily he caught OBriens eye But there was a fraction of a second when their eyes met, and for as long as it took to happen Winston knew- yes, he knew!- that OBrien was thinking the same thing as himself. An unmistakable message had passed. It was as though their two minds had opened and the thoughts were flowing from one into the other through their eyes. (17). This quote displays how Winston and OBrien are having the same rebellious thoughts and that their outlook on life is similar. They both felt the same way about Big Brother and the way he ran society. OBrien is the first person, in the novel, that Winston knew that had rebellious thoughts, other than him self. Winston is happy that he finally found someone with the same point of view. His new excitement gave him hope that maybe the Brotherhood, a group of rebellious Big Brother-haters, is real. OBrien is like a role model to Winston. He related to Winston over their common rebellious views. Which is like a father and his son, at a young age the son wants to do everything the father does, so that they have do common things.

Winston wanted nothing more than for OBrien to acknowledge their common interests. Winston tries explaining to Julia his fascination with OBrien. Julia is a woman that OBrien sees around work but had wanted to kill her before, but Julia and Winston end up falling for each other. He states that he wants to announce to him that he despises the party. The party is his enemy and he dislikes every action Big Brother makes. He wants to tell OBrien, hoping that he would come out and agree with him and they would somehow take action upon their feelings against the party. He told her of the strange intimacy that existed, or seemed to exist, between himself and O'Brien, and of the impulse he sometimes felt, simply to walk into O'Brien's presence, announce that he was the enemy of the Party and demand his help. Winston wants to be as close as best friends with OBrien as he could. He wants to share all his secrets with OBrien because he thinks that OBrien would agree with him. Winston thinks that he would understand the deep feelings of hatred that OBrien is feeling. Winston longs for OBrien to understand his feelings because no one else understands them. People are either brainwashed by the party, or they were too young at the time to remember the times when Big Brother was not in complete control. His fascination with OBrien is so strong, that even if OBrien caused him pain, he would still have feelings towards him.

At this time in the novel, OBrien has revealed himself as a member of the party. OBrien tricks Winston into believing that he is a member of the Brotherhood and then captures him. Winston is being tortured to change his ways of thinking so that he would believe everything that the party tells him. OBrien held up four fingers and asked Winston how many fingers he was holding up. Winston replied four and OBrien said that it is four fingers he is holding up but if the party said it is five then that is the answer, no matter how many fingers he is actually holding up. Each time Winston said four, the torture would get worse. Eventually OBrien convinces Winston to say five and he stopped the torture. As the straps holding Winston down loosened and he had a moment to reflect on what happened, he started to cry from the pain. As he is released he For a moment he clung to OBrien like a baby, curiously comforted by the heavy arm round his shoulders. He had a feeling that OBrien was his protector, that the pain was something came from outside, from some other source, and that it was OBrien that could save him from it. (250). This displays that Winstons emotional attachment to OBrien even though he is the cause of his physical and mental pain. He still somehow felt a connection with OBrien. Winston knew that no one could understand what his feelings are against the Party. He knew how rare it is that OBrien understood is feelings of hatred. This is why he treasured OBrien and although he may not agree with Winston, he knew how he felt and this comforted Winston.

In conclusion, Winston and OBriens relationship flourished on common interests that Winston felt between the two. Winston felt such a strong connection with OBrien even though it is not allowed. Since he is not use to having such an emotional attachment with someone, he became obsessed over it. This new feeling of admiration made him obsess over OBrien, almost like he is deeply in love with him. Even when OBrien betrayed Winston, his feelings for OBrien do not change. He felt something that he has never felt before and he does not want to lose it. Winstons idea that OBrien had common feelings with him is what brought Winston to become fascinated with OBrien. This gave Winston a feeling of comfort and that he felt like he was not alone in the world.