Julia and Winston from the book 1984 by George Orwell

Essay on the Book 1984 The novel 1984 by Gorge Orwell is one of the most dynamic works of fiction created about forty years after the Second World War. The story develops in London, which is facing a threat of political and social decay especially in its cities and the capital. The novel highlights a society in conflict with political impositions that negatively affect the people. It displays the greed by some politicians whose desire is to manipulate the public to create a totalitarian society. The main characters used by the author include Winston smith and Julia. The two come from two conflicting political ideologies that forbid their communion. While Winston is an official in a political party that promotes propaganda, Julia belongs to the party of truth. The two enters into a love affair that overturns their lives. This essay seeks to analyze the similarities and differences of the two characters.

Winston and Julia’s views on the political situation differ. Winston being tormented by the childhood memories desire to understand the reasons behind the party’s actions. He does not despise the Big Brother party but instead, he becomes curious and pensive desperate to know why the party strives to maintain absolute power in the oceanic. He goes through a series of reflections seeking to find out answers to his questions. This desire put Winston in a position that compromises with his individuality in order to understand the oppressive regime (Schneidereit, 2007). Julia, on the other hand, proves to be selfish and resists the party only for her anticipated gains. She is untroubled and sensual and desires to live her live the best way. Her rebellion is small-scale, and she is well adapted to it contrast to Winston who undergoes a passive resistance which forces him to tolerate what he dislikes (Owens, Orwell, Hall, & Miles, 1991).

Politically, Winston and Julia share ideology. Both hate the party; Winston believes that the only other person he is sure does not as the party is Julia. Julia on the other side argues that she knows from the looks that Winston does not like the party. When Winston meets Julia, her beauty arouses him at the same time he hates her. The reason why he hates her was the misconception of Julia as one of the party fanatics. He even goes to the point of fantasizing about raping and killing her. With their meeting months later, they realize that they are fellow criminals (Reed, 1984).

Winston is fatalistic. His hope for the future is dull and is full of legitimate pessimism, which brings him to the possibility of losing real hope in life. He is sure of his rebellion and its consequences, which make him trust O’Brien, who happened to be a member of the party. When he realizes that he will be finally caught he decides to rebel against the party. Throughout his events, Winston is sure of his fate. This is in contrast to Julia’s attitude. She is interested in enjoying sex at the same time developing plans to avoid being caught by the party and, therefore, comes up with practical plans of escaping it. While Winston’s fatalistic attitude denies him the chance to see the future of their relationship, Julia remains optimistic and determined to fight for their love. She even claims that she had had love affairs with the party members in the past and escaped being caught by the party (Brodeur, 1995).

The two characters view love from similar perspectives. The two fall in love despite their differences and the party demands. At room 101, under the brutality of the ministry of love, Winston only betrays Julia at a point when rejection was the last painful option. He is forced to admit everything including what he never did. Despite all this, he realizes that he had not betrayed Julia because his love for her remained strong. This reduces his feelings of guilt. Julia undergoes a similar ordeal, and her reaction proved to be similar to Winston’s. They both admitted that they betrayed each other and realized that life will never be the same again. Winston feels victorious after being brainwashed by the ministry of love. This victory was a result of his realization that he could remain hating Big Brother at heart and continue loving Julia at heart. Additionally, when O’Brien pretends that he is a member of the anti- party brotherhood, he tests the loyalty of the two to each other. When asked by O’Brien if they were ready for a separation from each other, Julia confesses that she is not ready while Winston accepts it painfully (Bloom, & InfoBase Publishing, 2003).

In terms of life and history perception, Winston and Julia portray similar perspectives with slight cases of contradiction. They believe in morality, which drives them to rebel against the party that lacks the moral dimension. Together, they violate the expectations of the party despite the dangers they are posing to themselves. Conclusively, the novel inspired many lives. The choice of character roles, their similarities, and contradictions bring a unique style in the novel. Winston and Julia who play a crucial role in the novel bring an interrelationship that dominates throughout the book.

References
Bloom, H., & InfoBase Publishing (2003). George Orwells 1984. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers.
Brodeur, K. (1995). George Orwells 1984. Piscataway, N.J: Research & Education Association.
Owens, R., Orwell, G., Hall, W. E., & Miles, W. A. (1991). George Orwells 1984: A play in three acts. Woodstock, Ill: Dramatic Pub.
Reed, K. (1984). George Orwells 1984. Woodbury, N.Y: Barrons
Schneidereit, G. (2007). George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four: Winston Smiths rebellion. München: GRIN Verlag GmbH.