1984 By: George Orwell

If everything you did was closely watched, what would you do? This is a question that has to be answered often by the civilians of the superstate Oceania, formerly known as Great Britain, because every move they make is a life or death decision. The main character of 1984 by George Orwell, Winston, is a very daring man, but as time goes on his confidence wavers. In the beginning of the book, Winston is very confident, in the middle his paranoia starts to kick in and he starts doubting everybody around him. Finally by the end of the book Winston breaks down and goes crazy

In the beginning of the book Winston is very confident in himself and starts a diary despite it being punishable by death. In addition to this Winston writes things that could start a revolt if shown to the right people. An example of this is, “He discovered that while he sat helplessly musing he had also been writing, as though by automatic action… His pen had slid voluptuously over smooth paper printing in large neat capitals- DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER”. This quote shows that Winston was very brave and confident because he was defying all laws just to state his opinion, and express himself.

By the middle of the book, Winston had grown paranoid, doubting his friends and contemporaries. this is shown when Winston starts doubting O’Brien who he was sure was on the same side as he was the whole time, and who he thought hated Big Brother with a burning passion. Winston also starts thinking about leaving his girlfriend, Julia, so she could live a longer life without torture. An example of this is, “ ‘Your young. You look normal an innocent. If you keep clear of people like me, you might stay alive for another fifty years.’ ”. This shows that Winston is growing less confident as the book progresses because it proves that he is worrying about the safety of him and his loved ones. Similarly Winston declines into insanity by the end of the book, and submits to Big Brother.

In conclusion, although strong at first Winston is strong, he eventually bested by Big Brother like everyone else. This means that Winston was less confident by the end of the book because it proves that he was emotionally weakened as he lived under the control of Big Brother for longer, and longer.