1984 by George Orwell | Teen Ink

1984 by George Orwell

November 10, 2017
By eeanderson BRONZE, New Orleans, Louisiana
eeanderson BRONZE, New Orleans, Louisiana
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Once upon a time, there is a man, Winston Smith, who is living in a world where any type of originality is a crime, even love. Winston wants to rebel against the Party and prove that they are altering history by taking out or replacing certain events and people. However, since thinking of doing something wrong is a crime, there is no way for him to prove his suspicions about the Party. The only way he can think of to rebel is to have relations with a brunette co-worker, Julia. Winston knows that if he and Julia get caught they will be punished by either death or severe torture. Eventually, the two get caught and are brought to the Ministry of Love, where the Party tortures people. Here, they are both tortured until they are converted into wanting to follow everything the party says and does. In 1984, written by George Orwell, the cliché “Actions speak louder than words” is supported in that Winston says he will rebel against the Party but in the end gives into the Party and follows them and also how Julia says she wants to fully rebel against the Party yet only rebels is in her acts of expressing her own sexuality.


The cliché “Actions speak louder than words” is seen in this novel when Winston wants to rebel in any way against the Party, yet he willingly follows the Party in the end. At the beginning of the book, Winston is ready to rebel against the Party in any way he possibly can to show his own originality. After being repressed and told what to do for so long, Winston feels the need do something for just him. He is slightly obsessed with Julia, one of his co-workers, and hopes to have relations with her to rebel against the Party. Julia ends up stalking him and gives him a note saying she loves him; they then plan to meet at a place where the two-way telescreens will not see them so that they can have sex. Winston wants to know how many men Julia has been with and says that the more men she’s been with the more he respects her because she was able to rebel in her own way. Another way that Winston attempts to rebel against the Party is to join a brotherhood, a resistance group against the Party, in order to rid Oceanic of the Party. Winston’s readiness is shown in that he wants to fully rebel against the Party by this quote: “We are enemies of the Party. We disbelieve in the principles of Ingsoc. We are thought-criminals” (Orwell 170). This particular quote is saying that the rebel people are enemies of the party who are fully involved in the act of rebelling and how they are separate from the Party showing their complete effort in their cause. The cliché is shown when Winston agrees to fully rebel against the Party his actions prove him wrong in that he is more loyal to his own life instead of his cause.


The cliché “Actions speak louder than words” is also seen when Julia wants to fully commit to rebelling against the Party, yet she does not. Julia rebels in small ways of her own such as committing acts of sexual activity, which is forbidden in Oceania. After she expressed her obsession/ and love of Winston they start to have relations often in secret. They think they are in a hidden room away from a two-way telescreen, however; the painting in the room is a front for the telescreen. They are eventually caught and tortured for their crimes. Julia very quickly gives up Winston and says she is not willing to rebel against the Party; Julia shows who she truly cared about when she says: “Sometimes, they threaten you with something you can't stand up to, can't even think about. And then you say, ‘Don't do it to me, do it to somebody else, do it to So-and-so.’ And perhaps you might pretend, afterward, that it was only a trick and that you just said it to make them stop and didn't really mean it. But that isn't true. At the time when it happens, you do mean it. You think there's no other way of saving yourself, and you're quite ready to save yourself that way. You want it to happen to the other person. You don't give a damn what they suffer. All you care about is yourself” (Orwell 240). This quote shows how Julia is truly thinking of herself and a way to get out of her situation and how she is never completely ready to be a true part of the rebellion. Julia embodies this cliché in that she wants to fully rebel against the Party; however, she cannot bring herself to actually do it.


In the novel 1984 by George Orwell the cliché “Actions speak louder than words” is seen when Winston talks about how truly ready he is to rebel but does not act on this and when Julia wants to fully rebel but cannot actually fully rebel against the Party. Winston has a plan to meet with the Brotherhood and start rebelling against the Party, yet he never actually goes through with this plan. Once he gets caught and tortured because of his relations with Julia he bails on everything and becomes submissive to the government. Julia, on the other hand, commits small acts of rebellion by having sex constantly and is not ready to fully commit herself to any large-scale rebellion quite yet. When she is caught with Winston and tortured for her crimes, she easily gives up Winston and his wish for complete rebellion and tears down any thought of rebellion inside herself. Both of these characters embody the cliché: “Actions speak louder in words” in that they both say they want rebellion, however; neither go through with their intended goal. Saying one thing and doing another are two entirely different things and can determine what one’s true motives are in life.



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