In 1984, George Orwell proves how actions speak louder than words through Winston Smith, Julia, and the government’s actions in Oceania during constant conflict with world powers.  1984 features a controlling government under an imperious political figure known as Big Brother.  The government enforces secret police, Thought Police, who punish citizens who have political views contrary to Big Brother’s beliefs.  The superstate Oceania also includes monitors that listen and oversee everything the citizens are saying, forcing the characters to follow the cliché “actions speak louder than words.”  The novel features Winston Smith, a citizen of Oceania, working secretly against Big Brother by documenting his rebellious ideas in a diary. Instead of openly voicing his opinions, Winston, along with other revolutionaries, resorts to completing secretive actions because he is afraid of consequences that are administered to disloyal citizens.  In addition, the government uses harsh punishments in order to correct illegal actions performed by disruptive citizens. George Orwell’s 1984 vividly supports the cliché statement, “actions speak louder than words,” through Winston’s documentations and relationships, as well as the punishments administered by the Thought Police.  

One way in which 1984 proves that actions are more powerful than words is through Winston’s diary and his relationship with Julia. In the novel, the Thought Police monitor the population and observe citizens who are suspected to committing thoughtcrime. Winston begins to document his beliefs regarding Oceania’s government in his personal diary.  Winston’s secret documentation is considered unlawful even before he begins to write about his ideas: “The thing that he was about to do was to open a diary. This was not illegal… but if detected it was reasonably certain that it would be punished by death, or at least by twenty-five years in a forced-labor camp” (Orwell 6). Without stating his political views, Winston’s writing in his diary shows how he does not agree with the government’s actions and that he will risk his reputation in order to document his beliefs.  Another example that supports the cliché is through Winston’s relationship with Julia. Winston and Julia always meet in secret and restrict talking in public in order to avoid the Thought Police getting suspicious. Winston wants to openly express his love for Julia, but he is not able to do so because of the dictating government: “He wished that he were walking through the streets with her just as they were doing now but openly and without fear, talking of trivialities and buying odds and ends for the household” (Orwell 139).  Since Winston and Julia are not able to have a public relationship, they sneak around authority. The couple’s actions are able to represent their feelings for one another since speaking out about their relationship could cause serious penalties. Therefore, Winston’s secret diary and his private relationship with Julia shows that actions can, in fact, speak louder than words.
Another textual piece of evidence that proves how actions impact more than words is through the punishments that disloyal citizens endure when participating in illegal actions. After Winston’s rebellious actions are discovered, the party harshly acts upon Winston in order to correct his immoral behavior.  The party members act wrongly towards Winston and other citizens guilty of committing thoughtcrime: “The force of it seemed almost to knock him clear of the floor. His body was flung across the cell and fetched up against the base of the lavatory seat. For a moment he lay as though stunned, with dark blood oozing from his mouth and nose” (Orwell 235).  Instead of ordering demands at the citizens, the party decides to torture the violators of the law. The party believes that actions, rather than words, will leave a lasting impact and will cause the violators to not repeat the action. The intense punishments that are given to the criminals by the Thought Police are administered in order to change one’s mind to adhere to what the government wants them to believe and can be seen through O’Brien’s words: “We do not destroy the heretic because he resists us. . . . We convert him, we capture his inner mind, we reshape him” (Orwell 255).  O’Brien’s statements suggest that the party’s goal is not to physically change a person, but their goal is to change a person’s mindset through physical actions, such as whipping and scolding. The party inflicts punishments instead of verbally correcting criminals in hopes that harsh actions will prevent future misconduct. All in all, the party’s treatment towards the citizens who inflict Big Brother’s teachings show how actions can impact people more than words.

In conclusion, throughout Winston and the party’s actions, the cliché, “actions speak louder than words,” proves to be true.  Winston’s writing in his diary reflects the cliché because it shows how he is able to interpret his ideas through his actions without being discovered by the monitors located in his apartment. Winston is also able to keep his relationship with Julia by participating in secretive actions.  To elaborate, Winston and Julia are not able to explicitly confirm their relationship; however, they are able to keep in touch by having secret interactions away from the Thought Police. In addition to Winston’s actions, the party’s actions also depict the cliché “actions speak louder than words.”  Instead of verbally imposing punishments, the party enforces laws by inflicting physical consequences in order to leave a lasting impact on the criminals’ mindsets. To conclude, the plot of 1984 changes completely when imagining if the citizens of Oceania were to act upon situations with words instead of actions.