Character Comparisons

In the book that I am currently reading, 1984, the main character is a skeptical government who works in a future-dystopian London named Winston Smith. To give you an idea of who he really is, the mere fact that he works for the government is puzzling. His ideas and small acts of rebellion make you wonder, why in the heck does he work for these people and do what he does? Wait, I should probably explain exactly what it is he does. That would be helpful, wouldn't it? Well, Winston essentially covers up the truth and comes up with his own version of what happened. But, there are guidelines as to what he's allowed to write. He has to come up with a story that makes Big Brother (the leader of his country) look like a saint, no matter what actually happened. While Winston still performs this task dutifully, he has a covert way of rebelling against the very people he works for. He has many thoughts of taking down Big Brother, thinks everyone else is just a bunch of mindless morons, and breaks a few laws along the way (one of which is writing a diary).You're probably thinking to yourself; why would Winston continue to work for the government if he hates them? That's what I thought originally, until it dawned on me that if Winston were to just stop working in the Ministry of Truth and got caught thinking and writing about rebellious things, he would essentially be "vaporized", or erased completely. "It seemed to him that he knew instinctively who would survive and who would perish, though just what it was that made for survival, it was not easy to say" (53-54 Orwell).

Now for the actual comparison (which I haven't gotten to yet, even though it's the title of this entire post). I'm comparing Winston to Guy Montag from Fahrenheit 451. I think they are both similar characters living in similar societies. They are both rebellious against the government, even if they aren't open about it. Well, Montag wasn't open about it in the beginning of the book. They are also similar because they both work for the government. More specifically, they help censor certain things from their own societies. They both also have wives who support their governments completely and follow the rules like the rest of their societies. Oh, and both wives leave Winston and Montag, showing that both men are such great husbands! Neither character has children either, but for two different reasons: Winston doesn't have a child because his wife couldn't have children, but Montag doesn't have children because Mildred didn't want any. Another difference between Montag and Winston is that their anger with their societies is aimed at different aspects of the government. Montag is mad at the mere fact that books are being burned and censored, while Winston is mad at the government as a whole.

Winston and Montag share a few differences, but for the most part, they are the same. They both share similar views of the future of their societies and they both want to make a difference. Oh, and they aren't very good with women.