“We are taught that the hero's journey is the journey from weakness to strength. But...[this is] wrong. The true hero's journey is the journey from strength to weakness. The true hero displays the ability to overcome challenges, even in a state of weakness, and emerge victorious. The true hero has flaws, but his courage, his selflessness, and his sacrifices for the greater good stand out above all. Winston Smith 1984 is described as a “small, frail figure” with a “varicose ulcer over his right ankle.” This is evidently not the image conjured up when imagining a hero, but due to the deceptive nature of appearances, we must consider his actions. What does Winston do? He repeatedly writes "Down with Big Brother" in his diary, has a carnal relationship with a woman he barely knows, and, when given the chance to show the strength of his willpower despite being reduced to the point of weakness, he betrays the person to whom he promised to always love. Winston Smith is not a hero. Buying the diary was a bold move on his part, but it didn't record anything of importance. He even admits to having "pour[ed]...[a] stream of garbage." Anyone who writes for a living should be able to write with some eloquence. His job, in fact, was to rewrite history to suit the whims of the Party, which was strange for someone who claimed to immensely despise the principles of Big Brother and who wanted the right to individuality and freedom of speech. Even stranger was that Winston was constantly concerned with changing history and aspired to know what really happened, he did not even dare to consider any form of keeping a personal record of the actual events. Winston knew that “every document had been destroyed or falsified, every book had been… at the center of the paper… and hating Big Brother would be his greatest revenge; this would become another broken promise. Winston would also have broken Julia's trust, which he had previously promised never to betray her. Winston's poor choice in relationships, weakening of will, and hypocritical view of history would be the main factors leading to his death. He initially seemed to be someone a reader could root for, a person who would be brave enough to start a revolution, but would turn out to be extraordinarily weak. Winston Smith does not portray the qualities of a hero; he does not show the strength needed to overcome his journey from strength to weakness, he never goes beyond what is expected of him, and he never risks his life for a chance to help others. Winston will be conquered by fear and will transform into the person he declared he hated, a Big Brother lover..