How does Winston's dysfunctional relationship with Julia affect his pursuit of happiness in 1984?
For Winston, his relationship with Julia is problematic because it violates party rules. As a result, every moment he spends with her is fraught with insecurity and prevents him from being truly happy in her company. This sense of insecurity is summed up perfectly in Part 2, Chapter 5:
"Both of them knew -- in a way, it was never out of their minds -- that what was now happening could not last long. There were times when the fact of impending death seemed as palpable as the bed they lay on, and they would cling together with a sort of despairing sensuality."
To find permanence, Winston comes up with all sorts of ideas which might enable him and Julia to stay together and be happy. In one such idea, he and Julia become proles and get a job in factory so as to avoid the watchful eye...
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of Big Brother. But, ultimately, Winston knows that none of his ideas are truly plausible; they are all "nonsense" and cannot ever result in the end he most desires. While this belief creates a sense of hopelessness in Winston, he does not end his relationship with Julia by choice. (Their relationship only ends when the pair are arrested and betray each other during torture.) He clings on to the idea that they might stay together but, in the closing chapter of the book, we see that happiness belongs only to the party: Julia and Winston have been brainwashed and they only feel love for Big Brother, not for each other.Â