What are the tensions in Winstons life in 1984?

's whole
life is one of tension. The source of this, in a totalitarian society, is not exactly that there
are explicit laws against freedom of activity. It is rather, as Winston observes, that nothing
is actually illegal because there are no laws. There is an overriding
awareness that one has absolutely no freedom, even of thought, though nothing about this is ever
directly stated by the regime. For all Outer Party members such as Winston, the assumption is
that the Thought Police are omniscient and that any kind of "heresy" against Big
Brother and the Party, even if it's never been openly expressed, will be punished with torture
and death. Even before Winston has begun his diary and written DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER, he knows
he is doomed.

The secondary tensions in Winston's life are mostly an
outgrowth of this primary fear of discovery, punishment, and death. But Winston is also haunted
by the memory of his mother and sister, and his abuse that caused them to leave him when he was
a youth. Before , the absence of a woman in his life exacerbates his isolation and his
frustrated, resentful attitude. But the affair with Julia, he knows, simply compounds the
"crimes" he has already committed. His interactions with others, in general, are
filled with additional tension because his neighbors and associates are people he either
dislikes or fears. Though he enjoys the company of Syme on an intellectual level and admires
Syme for his intelligence, Winston also fears him because Syme is a fanatical adherent of the
Party and would betray Winston instantly if he suspected him of thoughtcrime. (Syme himself,
however, ends up vaporized.) Parsons, though seemingly harmless and himself eventually arrested
for thoughtcrime, is tiresome and annoying to Winston in his own dull-witted party fanaticism.
So there is basically nothing positive in Winston's life, which is overwhelmed by tension and
fear from start to finish.