How is Winston a Non-Conformist
1984
Caitlin Barrett
A conformist is one who follows certain regulations to be accepted as part of a
group for example a young girl piercing her ears because her friends are doing it as well.
Another example would be the people of Oceania following the rules of Big Brother to
escape the Thought Police’s punishment. However, one person secretly strays from the
group. One person named Winston Smith is a non-conformist, even if it is only when no
one can see. Winston appears to be part of the crowd in Oceania yet behind closed doors
he has a side that rebels against Big Brother and the Thought Police. A side that allows
him freedom from the cruel world he is surrounded by and the thrill of misbehaving in a
world that allows no such thing.
Winston commits his first act of non-conformity when he purchases his notebook
which he purchased at the free market, a place where party members where not supposed
to go, however Winston purchased the book despite rules. With this book came nonconformity. When the book reached Winston’s apartment in Victory Mansions, he sat in a
corner of the living room where he was unseen by the telescreen and sat down to write in
the book. Writing a diary and having private thoughts was against the rules of the Thought
Police. As Winston wrote he knew that he was performing acts in which he would be killed
for. However, this sense of rule breaking and freedom of thought took control of him as he
scribbled “down with big brother” down the half the page.
When Winston meets Julia and they become non-conformists together. Winston
initially feels that Julia is the type of member who would report him to the Thought Police
at any chance available however he soon discovers with a simple note that it is not the
case. When Julia and Winston meet in their hideout and go against the Anti-Sex League
they both feel a sense of freedom but can only successfully have intercourse twice without
risking being caught. They have many occasions where they meet but some where they
have to pretend not to see each other because of patrol officers out. Winston and Julia’s
act of rebellion gives them a thrill and a sense of freedom from the party. Their secret
rondez-vous are a perfect way to commit an act of non-conformity in a conformed world.
Winston ends up back in the free market speaking to a man named Mr Charrington
in his shop where he begins to tell Winston about the past. He speaks of a poem that he
knew as a boy when London was still a nice city. The poem had the name of all the
London churches and it caused Winston to think about the past. This was an act of nonconformity because the past was as the party made it. Only telling what they wanted and
changing the rest to make them look good so as Winston seeks to figure out the rest of the
poem and tries to find the London that had been lost behind Big Brother he is not
conforming with the party. Winston is desperate to find the lost world and the truth of how it
used to be, before the party changed the world upside down.
He then continues to use Mr Charrington as a link to non-conformity by renting the
space above his shop that has no telescreen. Party members are not supposed to go to
the free market let alone live in it and the telescreen is what enables Big Brother to be so
powerful therefore making the situation very risky for Winston. This is a very big step of
non-conformity for Winston as it raises his chances of getting caught as a traitor by Big
Brother and ending up in prison or in jail. However Winston’s need to rebel against the
strict world causes him to take great risks and live in a room located in the free market. It
also opens new doors to the past which Winston knows are off limits as they reveal the
truth the party does not want anyone to know.
The meeting with O’Brien again is an act of non-conformity. When O’Brien tells
Winston that they will meet in the dark and Winston is unsure whether he is friend or
enemy he follows through anyway. O’Brien reveals to Winston that he is part of the
Brotherhood and therefore friend to Winston. This goes completely against Big Brother
and all his rules which Winston knows will get him killed. Although it turns out that O’Brien
was a trap and really was not connected to the Brotherhood, it stills shows Winston’s nonconformity by going against Big Brother and trying to find others who are looking to break
free from the chains of the party.
Overall, Winston Smith finds multiple ways to rebel against the party and may look
at times like a conformist he is desperate to break out and stand alone against the party.
Winston finds small ways to defy the party and find a way to follow his beliefs and discover
the past. These acts result in Winston being thrown in jail, abused and brainwashed by
O’Brien, a friend he thought he could trust. Although Winston had knowledge that it would
end this way from the time he began to commit thoughtcrime or any other sort of crime he
continued as he felt it was a way to break free from the chains of the party that were
holding him down. Winston was a non-conformist for all the right reasons and as most
non-conformists do, he paid the price for doing the right thing.