How do Plath and Orwell portray the character of the outsider in ‘Nineteen-eight-four’ and ‘The Bell Jar’?

In the two novels ‘Nineteen-eighty-four’ and ‘The Bell Jar’ the role of the outsider is explored in depth by the respective authors George Orwell and Sylvia Plath. Both use form, language, structure and style to portray the notion of the outsider. However, the ways these devices are used are very different, allowing for a very different experience being had from reading each book. There are similar themes throughout each novel that help develop the outsider character in each case. Themes of rebellion, interaction, fear, issues of trust and the societies in which the two characters live feature heavily. These themes help the reader identify with Winston Smith’s plight in ‘Nineteen-eighty-four’ and Esther Greenwood’s in ‘The Bell Jar’.
Both novels have a main character, with whom the reader journeys throughout the novel. As well as this main character there are a number of secondary characters. Through the exchanges between the one primary character (Winston and Est...