At each turn of a decade, there are those who are extremely imaginative
about the future. This is shown in the novel 1984, written by George Orwell. In
1984, Orwell's belief of the future centers around a totalitarianism government
and methods in which a government takes advantage of its citizens by the
misuse of technology. The two main characters, Winston Smith and Julia, both
decide to revolt against their leader, Big Brother, and the organization which
keeps the society functioning, the Party, by abandoning the Party and joining the
Brotherhood, an organization that opposes all of the Party's laws and beliefs.
Although both Winston and Julia revolt against Big Brother, there is a
fundamental contrast between the forms of their revolts.
Winston's reasons for rebelling against the Party is mainly focused on the
discovery of the Party's deceit and malfunctioning. Winston wrote in his diary, "i
don't care down with big brother they always shoot you in the back of the neck i
don't care down with big brother" (p 20). When Winston recorded this, along
with many other entries, he created his first form of rebellion. As he inscribes
words of hatred for Big Brother, Winston has created thoughtcrime. Even though
Winston never directly writes that he wants to revolt, it's implied that he is willing
to give up anything to justify his beliefs, even to the extent of his own life. When
Winston goes to O'Brien's apartment, he gives O'Brien an explanation for his
interest in revolting against Big Brother:
We believe that there is some kind of conspiracy, some kind of secret
organization working against the Party, and that you are involved in it. We
want to join it and work for it. We are the enemies of the Party. We
disbelieve in the principles of Ingsoc. We are thought-criminals. We are
also adulterers. I tell you this because we want to put ourselves at your
mercy. If you want us to incriminate ourselves in any other way, we are
ready. (p 140)
Winston's form of revolting is perfectly clear; he wishes to join the Brotherhood
headed by the Party's most hated enemy, Emmanuel Goldstein. Winston
thoroughly explains that he chooses to revolt because of political conflicts. Even
though Winston revolts for political reasons, being an adulterer also contributes
to his reasons.
Unlike Winston, Julia decides to revolt against Big Brother mainly for the
physical controversy known as sex. Julia's view on life was explained thoroughly
in the book:
Life as she saw it was quite simple. You wanted a good time; "they," meaning the Party, wanted to stop you having it; you broke the rules as best as you could. (p 109)
This demonstrates that Julia's revolt revolves around the mere fact that she's
being a "rebel" and taking pride in it. It is not so much about fulfilling her own
beliefs in how a society should function, but about her sexual desires. When
Winston and Julia meet O'Brien at his apartment, O'Brien interrogates them with
plenty of questions dealing with what extent they would sacrifice their lives to.
When it gets to the question of, "You are prepared, the two of you, to separate
and never see each other again" (p 142), Julia outbursts with a harsh, "NO!"
This outbursts proves that her form of revolt is extremely weak. Julia's choice of
revolting was for the sake of Winston, but only to the extent to where she could
still have him sexually. It was not about pursuing what she believed in, but
pursuing what she wanted; sex. Julia's revolt only centered around the fact that
she felt great being rebellious, but her revolt had no connections dealing with
political controversies.
Although Winston and Julia both chose the same path; revolting against
Big Brother, their reasons for their actions differed drastically. Each had their
own reasons: Winston rebelled on the grounds of political beliefs, whereas Julia
revolted on the grounds of sexual desires. They both ended up in the same
places, but both also had different outcomes. The importance of 1984 is seen
as a warning for the future to prevent a totalitarianism government from arising to
overpower its citizens.