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Where is Winston physically described in 1984 by George Orwell?

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In Orwell's 1984, there are important physical descriptions of the protagonist Winston Smith in book 1, chapter 1 and in book 3, chapter 3. At the beginning of the book, Winston is described as unhealthy and frail, but by the end of the book, he is barely recognizable as human.

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Orwell's physical description of Winston Smith—a "smallish, frail figure" with a meager body— in the very first chapter of 1984 tells us straight away what kind of person we're dealing with. Winston's the protagonist of the story, yet there's nothing remotely heroic about him on the basis of the description given to us here. He is most certainly not the stuff of which heroes are made.

But that's the whole point. In Oceania, there's no place for anyone who stands out of the crowd. If there are going to be heroes in this totalitarian society, they have to look like pretty much everyone else; they need to be inconspicuous. And so it's entirely appropriate for the hero of the story to have skin "roughened by coarse soap and blunt razor blades and the cold of the winter just ended."

That Winston is small and frail emphasizes the extent...

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to which he is weighed down by the sheer oppressive might of the one-party state. But then again, everyone in Oceania is small by comparison to the mighty Big Brother, whose stern face is to be seen glowering down from thousands of posters and telescreens. In Oceania, only Big Brother is big and powerful; and this is just how the Party likes it.

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In book 1, chapter 1, when we meet Winston Smith for the first time, he is described as a weak, prematurely-aged, pitiful figure of a man. He has "a varicose ulcer above his right ankle" and must rest "several times" when ascending the stairs to his own flat. Given that he is only thirty-nine years of age, this is not a picture of a healthy man. We are also told that he wears blue overalls that are too big for him and that emphasize "the meagreness of his body." His hair is "very fair" and his face is "naturally sanguine." His skin has been "roughened by coarse soap and blunt razor blades and the cold of the winter." Altogether, these physical descriptions of Winston suggest that he is probably underweight and malnourished, weak, sickly, and prematurely aged.

Towards the end of the novel, in book 3, chapter 3, Winston is described again, after he has been tortured for months by O'Brien. O'Brien points out that since Winston has been with him, he has "lost twenty-five kilograms." He also says that Winston's skin is covered by a "filthy grime," that there is "dirt between [his] toes," and that he has a "disgusting running sore" on his leg. O'Brien shows Winston how emaciated he has become by showing him that he can make his "thumb and forefinger meet round [his] bicep." He also tells Winston this his hair is falling out "in handfuls," and to prove the point, he pulls "a tuft of hair" out of Winston's head. O'Brien tells Winston that he is "rotting away" and "falling to pieces." He tells him that he is a "bag of filth" and a "thing."

When we first meet Winston, the physical descriptions of him present us with a weak, pitiful, unwell man. The physical descriptions of Winston after he has been subjected to months of torture, however, present us with a man who has been dehumanized, degraded, and broken down to the point that he is barely recognizable as a human being. He is, after his torture, a grotesque, tragic parody of a man.

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There is not much physical description of Winston in George Orwell's novel "1984". In the 1984 Signet Classic version of the book, the speaker uses the description, "His hair was very fair, his face naturally sanguine, his skin roughened by coarse soap and blunt razor blades and the cold of the winter that had just ended"(6). Many other physical descriptions of Winston are temporary. One example of this is after he drinks some "Victory Gin", "Instantly his face turned scarlet and the water ran out of his eyes"(8). Winston's actions and thoughts are far more important in this novel that his physical description.

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