The problems faced by literary characters often repeat themselves, and when these characters decide to solve these standard problems, their actions are often more similar than they appear at first glance . This idea is evident when comparing the actions taken by Winston Smith in George Orwell's novel 1984 and V in James McTeigue's film adaptation of V for Vendetta. On the surface, their actions are very different. Smith takes a mental, passive approach to his problem, while V takes a physical, direct approach. However, if you look at what the two men did in relation to the societies in which they lived, their actions turn out to be very similar. Both men are patient, tactical and willing to push themselves to the point of self-destruction. They do everything they can to rebel against the circumstances they are given. Therefore, the contrasting actions taken by the two antiheroes are not the result of their different personalities, but are due to the subtle differences between the totalitarian oligarchies against which they rebel. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The governing body in 1984, the Party, does a better job of containing the general population than Norsefire, the ruling political party, in V for Vendetta. With the help of the Thought Police, Newspeak, television screens and the Ministry of Love, the Party seeks to control not only what people do, but also what they think. This allows the Party to stop the rebellion before it begins. Party officials also implement the deception of continuous war to keep the proles below the poverty line and further remove any thoughts of rebellion. Norsefire, however, was doomed from the start and is destined to be overthrown in the end, as Norsefire's approach is disorganized and arrogant. , and his force of fingermen is easily defeated by V. However, the main reason for this demise is the constant internal struggle. There are three rival points of view, one from Creedy, one from Sutler and one from the police force. This division in the upper ranks and the condition of not being able to share an ideology makes it impossible to have complete control over the population, a flaw that seriously weakens Norsefire. Furthermore, the torture methods are primitive, party officials do not meticulously control the distribution of assets, and they no longer strike fear into the hearts of the people with the same intensity as they once did after the first outbreak of the St. Mary's virus. Simply put, Norsefire is easily exploited by fighting internally instead of controlling people. These subtle differences between the Party and Norsefire are the difference between control and anarchy. Everything Norsefire does to control its citizens, the Party does better. Norsefire monitors citizens with cameras while the Party uses telescreens. Norsefire uses fingermen to enforce curfew; the Party has the Thought Police. Norsefire causes a fake epidemic with a virus for which he has the cure; the Party propagates a fake war with another superstate. Towards the end of the film, when V is asked how he didn't die from the numerous gunshot wounds he suffered, he replies: “Underneath this mask is more than just flesh. Beneath this mask is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof. (McTeigue, V for Vendetta). This quote is significant because it shows that V's human spirit has not been crushed and cannot be crushed. V is saying that even when he dies, the idea he personifies will continue to live on in other like-minded peopleway. It also alludes to the beginning of the film, when the original Guy Fawkes is executed for trying to make a change the same way V is trying. This quote points to one reason why Norsefire doesn't have the same level of control as the Match. The Party tries to control both actions and thoughts, and until Norsefire does this as effectively, it is doomed to a fate of failure at the hands of V, Eve, or another Winston counterpart. Winston's case is interesting because, although his reckless actions in the latter part of the book can be blamed for his incarceration, the Party controls its citizens so precisely that such actions do not alter its final outcome. Winston spends his entire adult life trying to avoid the Party's attention: he never participates in suspicious activities, never expresses his hatred towards the Party, and constantly controls his facial expressions so that his disloyalty is not noticed by telescreens . Although the reader is led to believe that Winston must not have been careful enough while committing the mind crimes with Julia, crimes that led to his imprisonment, the Party actually already knew that Winston was a mind criminal. Due to his extensive surveillance, the Party learned of his thoughtcrime when he had a dream in which a mysterious voice spoke to him, seven years before the events recounted in the book. Party loyalists would always arrest and torture him; they were just waiting for the right moment. V, on the other hand, gets away with both figurative and literal murder in his attempt to defeat Norsefire. This is due to the shortcomings of the Norsefire system, as opposed to V being braver or having a stronger will than Winston. He is more capable of violence than Winston, but it is not his physically enhanced body that allows him to attempt a more direct solution. Norsefire is so concerned with his own business, mainly the power struggle between Sutler and Creedy, that he didn't even recognize V as a threat until it was too late. There are many more similarities between Winston and V than differences. Both worked in secret for many years before their rebellions, both have aides who support their causes, and both accept the fate of death long before they die. Accepting such a fate is crucial, because it means that, being aware of the consequences of their actions, they can act as if they have nothing to lose. At the beginning of the novel, when Winston first writes in his diary, the text reads: “He was already dead, he reflected. It seemed to him that only now, when he had begun to be able to formulate his thoughts, had he taken the decisive step” (Orwell 30). The meaning of this quote is that it shows Winston's feelings after committing his first thought crime. These thoughts demonstrate his fatalistic view of the world and foreshadow his end in the Ministry of Love. His mindset in this quote illustrates the kind of world the Party has created: one where when a man writes in a diary, the next step is to accept death. Just as the Party creates this attitude in its people, Norsefire curses V with the mentality that he will die, that he should die. While we don't have the same understanding of V's thoughts as we do of Winston's, at the end of the film it is revealed to us that V knew he was going to die; in fact, dying was part of his plan. The two men are not so similar that if the roles were reversed their actions would have been identical, but their tactics would have been comparable. For example, considering the type of violence used by V, Winston admits to O'Brien that he is willing to do worse things than murder. Both of them.