Syme 1984

Characters
might be flat or round, static or dynamic, but in , Syme plays a specific
role.

In my opinion, Syme is a foil to . A foil
is a character intended to help show a main character's traits by being opposite in many ways.
While Winston is just your average guy, Syme is depicted as rather intelligent. This
intelligence further demonstrates that intellect is not valued in this society, because Winston
knows that Syme will ultimately die. This discrepancy in how each man reveals his thoughts makes
readers empathize even more with Winston. Readers want him to keep living to keep the story
alive and hopefully watch him overthrow Big Brother.

Other differences that
help show contrast include devotion to Big Brother, level of excitement for the Party, and level
of directness in communication. Winston knows to be quiet about his thoughts, whereas Syme
blurts out his every idea. Syme clearly loves Big Brother, while Winston wants to take him
down.

This contrast also develops readers' eventual disappointment in
Winston. Readers realize he does not have all it takes because they have seen more intelligent
characters, like Syme.