Although Winston is the main character of this novel, I don't like him. He seems stupid and careless. I cannot believe that after weeks of hating Julia, he decides that a piece of paper will change it all. It is reckless of him just to assume that three words on a piece of paper are synonymous with the truth. Winston takes little to no time to really analyze Julia and decide if she really is who she says she is. He just goes along willingly probably because he is so controlled by his lustful thoughts.
I think that Winston deserved to be caught. He was actively breaking the rules but doing it in a way that getting caught would always be inevitable. What do you think? Does Winston deserve the punishments that will be coming his way? Or, was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time, blinded by love?
I personally don't much like Winston either. He's a hard protagonist to identify with for contemporary audiences. But maybe that's somewhat intentional by Orwell -- even his hero is kind of irrational. (Also his misogyny is really hard to take.)
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