An essay which compares how both Orwell and Proulx develop there main characters in George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four"and E. Annie Proulx's "The Shipping News".

By close examination of George Orwell's 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' and E. Annie Proulx's 'The Shipping News' compare the ways in which the Orwell and Proulx, develop their main characters '1984', as a science fictional dystopia, depicts a totalitarian regime that outlaws truth, love, thought, and the concept of the individual, controlling its populace with fear, brute force, and propaganda. Orwell presents Winston Smith as the protagonist of the story; his desperate attempt to preserve his …

…outnumber the similarities. Winston's growth and then destruction of character is far more dramatic and takes place in a notably smaller timespan then Quoyle's subtle, steady development. Winston's changes are regularly called in question due to Orwell's manipulation of dramatic irony and the different belief system the society holds and manages to implement on the majority of its citizens. Whereas Quoyle's growth is unambiguous and is only ever portrayed in a positive light by Proulx.