Then he’s just an audience proxy, reflecting our own patheticness. :)
I’m not saying everyone has to like 1984, I’m not saying there is one concrete experience of it. I’m merely pointing out that unlikable protaganists are a choice, and there can be a strong narrative experience when that choice is made.
I’ll definitely recommend Gurgeh from The Player of Games as a great unlikeable protagonist. It helps that his friends call him on his bullshit, and that he’s quickly put in a situation where he’s one of the best people around. It helps us believe that the Culture’s idea of a doofus is quite a bit better than most civilisations’ idea of a good person.
But you see how if they immediately saw the base pathetic person Winston is beyond the curtain of his own narrative, none of that really works.
Then he’s just an audience proxy, reflecting our own patheticness. :)
I’m not saying everyone has to like 1984, I’m not saying there is one concrete experience of it. I’m merely pointing out that unlikable protaganists are a choice, and there can be a strong narrative experience when that choice is made.
I’ll definitely recommend Gurgeh from The Player of Games as a great unlikeable protagonist. It helps that his friends call him on his bullshit, and that he’s quickly put in a situation where he’s one of the best people around. It helps us believe that the Culture’s idea of a doofus is quite a bit better than most civilisations’ idea of a good person.