Proletariat Vs Protagonist: Winston Smith’s Class Conflict In 1984

Although the year that George Orwell wrote the most famous novel is nearly nineteen, the dystopian vision the book draws is still able to hold its own and captivate readers with a haunting skepticism about the future. One of the most important issues in 1984 is still being debated today: the conflict between individual and state. Orwell portrays a totalitarian society in which the state is all-powerful. This only makes the role of the individual more important as a counter-balance. Orwell’s 1984 depictions of the characters are more important than ever because there is no rebellion except personal rebellion. Winston Smith, Orwell’s anti-hero protagonist, notes that “[r]ebellion was a look in one’s eyes, an inflection or voice; at most, a whispered phrase” (60). The novel’s importance has increased tenfold as the personal has become politically charged.

Although character is important, the novel also reflects Orwell’s political views. Winston is given an illicit book to read, which Emmanuel Goldstein, a mythic leader of the “resistance”, writes. Orwell seems intent on using the episode for further explanation of the ultrafascist government that is depicted, and to sketch how it came to being (although it turns out that the book was written by exactly the same men who it criticizes. This may be more for the sakes if plausibility. Orwell states that there have been three types in the world over recorded history. These are the High, Middle and Low. […] “N]o advancement in wealth, nor any softening or reform has ever brought human egalitiy a millimeter closer” (166-67). This is Orwell’s Socialist view and fear of Fascism. However, it seems that this novel contains a much more explicit expression. In this context, Winston Smith, the protagonist, can be understood. Winston Smith is a person, but Orwell also created a society in 1984 that is clearly three-tiered with a high class, middle class, and a lower class. The Proles, who are the poor and abused people, make up the lower class. They live a relatively medieval lifestyle. The two upper classes include members of what is called the Party. These are divided into the Outer Party and Inner Party. However, the former is much more powerful. Winston is a member in good standing of the Outer Party.

Winston’s motivations are not clearly evident from his characters, but they become more understandable if we accept that Winston is acting within Orwell’s theories of class conflict. Winston’s motivation to destroy the Party is clear throughout the book. He hates Big brother and the Party, but the reader doesn’t know why. Orwell wrote in Goldstein’s book: “[t]he purposes of these [classes]… are completely unconcilable. The High wants to stay exactly where they are. The Middle’s goal is to join the High. The Low’s aim if they have one is “to abolish all distinctions and create an equal society” (166). Winston’s desire is to take control of the Party and gain its power. It is only subconscious and not expressed in any way. Economic power is a form of power that is often sought after in class disputes. Orwell shows Winston’s limited economic power. Winston was naked when he woke up from his bed, because the Outer Party member received only three thousand clothing coupons per year, and six hundred pajamas. Orwell contrasts Winston’s membership in the Outer Party and the mention of Winston’s discomfort with specific numbers. This is to show the kind of discomfort Winston feels as a middle-class member. Orwell sees class conflict as less tangible because he also believes that power seeking for its own sake is a valid motivation. Winston’s teacher/torturer O’Brien explains to him that the Party seeks power for itself (217). Winston too wants to be able to grab power from those more powerful than he. “[h]e found out that while he was thinking helplessly, he was also writing […] large capitals in large neat caps – DOWN BROTHER BIG BROTHER. DOWN BROTHER BIG BROTHER.” (19). Orwell demonstrates that Winston did not realize that he had expressed the thought, but it was a subconscious one. Winston lacks basic economic and personal freedoms. He desires to be able to destroy those who are above him and not just to have these power, but to also gain them. Orwell has outlined a number of motivations for middle-class people like him.

Winston’s strong motivation comes from his nostalgia for his past. But, his nostalgia also informs his desire for greater power. He is obsessed about the past due to its inexplicability and uncertainty. As a child, he cannot recall enough information to disprove Party claims. Winston claims that the Party’s founders were the capitalists and that everyone else was their slave before they came to power (63). Winston finds this troubling because it implies that Party leaders are simply replacing “the capitalists” in their function. In Winston’s past, which he vaguely longs for but does not know, he would no longer have the same power as he has today. At great risk, Winston asks an old proleman questions about the past. He is not able to find the right answer. He finds this frustrating because he can’t be certain if he would still be in the same position as before.

Winston’s methods also reflect the middle class psychology Orwell described. Orwell says that every struggle has a similar core throughout history. This is reflected in Goldstein’s writing. Long periods of time the High appear to be in power but […] “their” are overthrown when the Middle enlists the Low on its side (166). Similar realizations were made by Winston before even reading the book. He concluded that “If there were any hope, it would be in the proles.” (60). Orwell used condescending language for describing proles. He called them “swarming” as if they were insects. This language reinforces class distinctions: Winston views the proles as tools and not individuals. He resists because he is a member of the class he belongs to.

Winston’s ideology is also indicative of his status in the middle-class rebel group. Orwell writes about how the middle class recruits members of the lower class by telling them they are fighting for liberty. Although this is how Inner Party members behave with Outer Party members (62), “no attempt to indoctrinate [theproles] the ideology of Party” (62). Winston is free to explore this territory. He cannot indoctrinate proles but his resistance to it is clearly ideological, particularly in comparison to his love, Julia. Although he does not believe in freedom, he would certainly use it to his rhetoric. Winston doesn’t get too obsessed with the past’s mutability. He thinks about freedom often and writes in his diary: “Freedom is when you can say two plus two makes four.” It is the only thing that matters. He finds equality essential. Similar fascination is expressed by Goldstein’s mythic Brotherhood resistance movement. Winston’s methods are the same as those seeking power in society. The only difference is that he has no plans to make them come true.

Winston’s individual character is very important to the book. However Orwell’s class psychology, which places Winston in a larger historical history of middle-class rebels, allows Winston to be seen through Orwell. Orwell shows how class divisions and inequalities will continue into the future. However, the book ends with Winston’s defeat and his ability to fight. Orwell shows that the High have defeated the middle, which is what makes 1984 so terrifying. To explain these situations and Winston’s character, he uses Goldstein’s novel to do so. The novel warns not only against corrupt ideologies but also against all ruling classes. Orwell imagined a world where it would be futile to resist the dictates of society.