The problems faced by characters in literature often repeat themselves, and when these characters decide to solve these standard problems, their actions are often more similar than they are appear so 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, when we look at what both men did in relation to the societies they lived in, their actions turn out to be very similar. Both men are patient, tactical and ready to exceed their limits, to the point of self-destruction. They do everything they can to rebel in the circumstances given to them. The contrasting actions of the two anti-heroes are therefore not the result of their different personalities, but are due to the subtle dissimilarities between the totalitarian oligarchies against which they rebel. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essayThe governing body of 1984, the Party, is doing a better job of restraining the general population than Norsefire, the political party in power, does it in V for Vendetta. With the help of the Thought Police, Newspeak, telescreens 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 proletarians below the poverty line and further eliminate any thoughts of rebellion. Norsefire, however, was doomed from the start and is destined to be overthrown eventually, since Norsefire's approach is disorganized and arrogant. , and his finger strength is easily defeated by V. However, the main reason for this disappearance is constant internal struggle. There are three rival points of view, one from Creedy, one from Sutler and one from the police. This division in the higher ranks and the inability to share a common ideology makes total control over their population impossible, a flaw that seriously weakens Norsefire. Moreover, the methods of torture are primitive, party officials do not meticulously control the distribution of goods, and they no longer strike fear into people's hearts with the same intensity as before, after the first outbreak of the terrorist attack. Sainte-Marie. virus. Simply put, Norsefire is easily exploited by fighting internally instead of controlling the people. These subtle differences between the Party and Norsefire are the difference between control and anarchy. Every thing Norsefire does to control its citizens, the Party does better. Norsefire monitors citizens with cameras while the Party uses TV monitors. Norsefire uses goons to enforce the curfew; the Party has the Thought Police. Norsefire causes a false epidemic with a virus for which he has the cure; the Party is propagating a fake war with another superstate. Toward the end of the film, when V is asked why he didn't die from the numerous gunshot wounds he suffered, he replies, "Beneath that mask, there's more than flesh." Beneath that mask is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are foolproof. (McTeigue, V for Vendetta). This quote is significant because it demonstrates that V's human spirit has not been crushed and cannot be crushed. V says that evenwhen he dies, the idea he personified will live on in other like-minded people. This also alludes to the very beginning of the film, when the original Guy Fawkes is executed for trying to bring about change in the same way V is trying. This quote indicates one of the reasons why Norsefire is not at the same level of control as the Party. The Party seeks to control both actions and thoughts, and until Norsefire does so just as effectively, it is doomed to a destiny of failure at the hands of V, Eve, or another Winston counterpart. . Winston's case is interesting because although his rash actions in the latter part of the book can be blamed for his imprisonment, the Party monitors its citizens with such precision that these actions do not change its final outcome. Winston spends his entire adult life trying to avoid the attention of the Party: never participating in suspicious activities, never expressing his hatred towards the Party, and even constantly monitoring his facial expressions so that his disloyalty is not detected. noticed by television screens. Although the reader is led to believe that Winston must not have been careful enough in committing the thought crimes alongside Julia, crimes that led to his detention, the Party in fact already knew that Winston was a thought 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 of the book. The party faithful were always going to 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 quest 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 preoccupied with his own affairs, 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 there are differences. They 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 essential, because it means that, 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 journal, the text says: “He was already dead, he thought. It seemed to him that it was only now, when he was beginning to be able to formulate his thoughts, that he had taken the decisive step” (Orwell 30). The importance of this quote is that it shows Winston's feelings after he commits his first thoughtcrime. These thoughts demonstrate his fatalistic view of the world and foreshadow his eventual demise at the Ministry of Love. His mindset in this quote illustrates the type of world the Party has created: a world in which when a man writes in a journal, his next step is to accept death. Just as the Party creates this attitude in his people, Norsefire curses V with the mentality that he will die, that he should die. Although we don't get the same insight into V's thoughts as we do 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. By.