Winston and Julia Against the Party in 1984 Essay Example

1984 is a novel written by George Orwell.  Its two main characters, Julia and Winston are involved in a love affair that is secretive and exciting. They are both against The Party and want to take them down, however, their outlooks on life and how they deal with it are quite different. They both despise Big Brother and resist conformity. Winston is anxious and rebellious, while Julia is sneaky and more emotionally stable. Throughout the book, Julia and Winston rebel against The Party in ways that are effective and behind the scene --and for a while, no one gets caught. 

Julia believes that the only way she can take The Party down is by her secret disobedience. As Julia works hard and volunteers for the party, she has a hidden side. “I was a troop-leader in The Spies. I do voluntary work three evenings a week for the Junior Anti-Sex League. Hours and hours I’ve spent pasting their bloody rot all over London. I always carry one end of a banner in the processions. I always look cheerful and I never shirk anything. Always yell with the crowd, that’s what I say. It’s the only way to be safe” (pg 80). In the quote above, Julia is describing how she goes undercover and how sneaky she is with it. Sex is a tool that she masters to manipulate and work her way around The Party. She uses this method to survive. “And do you know what I’m going to do next? I’m going to get hold of a real woman’s frock from somewhere and wear it instead of these bloody trousers. I’ll wear silk stockings and high-heeled shoes! In this room, I’m going to be a woman, not a Party comrade.”(pg). Julia is tired of wearing boring clothes and following society’s unfair and uninspiring rules. She feels strongly that when she puts on a dress she is in some way defining the rules laid out for women during this time.

While Winston hates The Party also,  he deals with them differently. He wants to test their power and commits crimes throughout the novel. He feels comfortable enough with Julia to say his thoughts freely instead of having to only write them in his diary. “In this game that we’re playing, we can’t win. Some kinds of failure are better than other kinds, that’s all” (pg). This quote shows how Winston feels like he is always going to get caught so he acts negatively towards The Party and commits a lot of crimes. He feels hopeless and knows that he can’t ever win.“Listen. The more men you’ve had, the more I love you . . . I hate purity. I hate goodness. I want everyone to be corrupt to the bones” (pg). This illustrates how Winston thrives in a society where rules are broken and norms are shattered.

Even though both Winston and Julia rebel against The Party differently, they are both determined to take down the Party together.  Winston is attracted to Julia because whe holds his same political views and because it is forbidden to fall in love. “In the old days, he thought, a man looked at a girl's body and saw that it was desirable, and that was the end of the story. But you could not have pure love or pure lust nowadays. No emotion was pure, because everything was mixed up with fear and hatred. Their embrace had been a battle, the climax a victory. It was a blow struck against The Party. It was a political act”(pg). The Party is the reason that they are together romantically, it allows them to connect both politically and is a symbol of rebellion. “It was something in your face. I thought I’d take a chance. I’m good at spotting people who don’t belong. As soon as I saw you I knew you were against THEM” (pg). This quote describes why she loves Winston, she needs to connect with someone on her same level. They have very similar goals and they are attracted to each other because of those goals.

Even though Julia and Winston rebel against The Party in their own ways, they both want the same end goal, to take The Party down. Both of them end up getting caught and tortured for the rules they break.  They betray each other which diminishes all the work they tried to accomplish together. Winston is not successful in overcoming The Party and in fact becomes brainwashed into thinking he agrees with The Party. Ultimately, even though Julia & Winston’s strategies were different, they both end up being controlled and captured by The Party. Their efforts were not successful.