Winston Smith (Nineteen Eighty-Four)

Winston Smith is a fictional character and the protagonist of George Orwell's dystopian 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. He was employed by Orwell as an everyman character. He is an unremarkable individual who questions the novel's oppressive regime and secretly rebels against its edicts, but is ultimately crushed into conformity.

Winston exists under a brutal, oppressive regime in Oceania, a totalitarian super-state. He works in the Ministry of Truth, rewriting historical documents for the Party, which is led by Big Brother. In defiance of the Party's directives, he begins to have revolutionary ideas, making him guilty of thoughtcrime. He takes further risk by beginning a forbidden secret affair with Julia, a fellow worker. The affair is eventually discovered and they are arrested by the Thought Police.

Weak, unattractive and self-pitying, Winston is a flawed hero, but has been described by critics as one of the most unconventional and compelling protagonists. He has been portrayed in numerous adaptations of the novel in film, television, radio and theatre, including Peter Cushing in the 1954 television adaptation and John Hurt in the 1984 film.