1984 #2

                Winston struggles to define himself in this undefinable society. He goes back to this idea of his diary, wondering whether or not anyone will ever see it. He fears that it will simply disappear in the same way that he shall after death. He ponders the enormity of this idea that since the record of the past is completely controlled by the government and can easily be destroyed, he could easily be vaporized, and no one would ever know that he once walked this earth. Orwell writes of Winston, “He was a lonely ghost uttering a truth that nobody would ever hear” (27). The truth in this statement is depressing. The society they live in has created a human population but no individual identities. They are not allowed to express freely their personalities or their thoughts. Every aspect of their lives is controlled. However, as Winston goes on to say, “so long as he uttered [the truth], in some obscure way the continuity was not broken. It was not by making yourself heard but by staying sane that you carried on the human heritage” (27). In writing his cryptic diary entries, there exists hope for Winston. Maybe, just maybe, someone will read it in the future, and therefore, this risk is justified. Winston is searching for someone or even something to reinforce the feelings he is having. He is yearning for someone to tell him that he is not alone, and so he writes. This way he gets to at least share these lingering thoughts with someone even if that someone never ends up existing.