George Orwell's 1984 follows protagonist, Winston Smith, as he struggles to survive under a totalitarian government by outwardly conforming to mask his inner desire to rebel. As the majority of the citizens believe and obey the Party's commands and adulate Big Brother, Winston risks his existence and beliefs as he lives a double life working at the Ministry of Truth and secretly harboring mutinous thoughts towards the Party. He lives his life knowing that "if [he] wants to keep a secret, [he] must also hide it from [himself]" to avoid the Thought Police vaporizing him (Orwell 250). Feeling alone within this dystopian society, he and his lover, Julia, hope to join the Brotherhood and their comrade, O'Brien; however, they fail to realize the trap they walk into in trusting O'Brien. Throughout the novel, Winston gives up many important values to save his life. Winston's multitude of sacrifices illuminates the theme that survival takes precedence over all other values.
While working at the Ministry of Truth, Winston unconsciously loses his safety when he begins to believe O'Brien shares the same "secretly held belief[s]" as him (Orwell 9). Winston becomes "deeply drawn" to O'Brien and his "appearance of being a person that [he] could talk to," and he begins to "hope that O'Brien's political orthodoxy [is] not perfect" (Orwell 9). Winston mistakenly assuming O'Brien as "the enemy of the Party" and feeling an "impulse" to "demand his help" in "[actively rebelling] against the Party emphasizes his willingness to sacrifice his secret identity in order to survive (Orwell 9, 134, and 135). Moreover, this "strange intimacy" he feels between himself and O'Brien fuels his urge to share his thoughts of the Party with O'Brien and discover how he can join the Brotherhood; however, consequently, this ignites the dawn of his pending demise (Orwell 135). In addition, Winston renting the upper room of Mr.