Who Is Syme?
Syme is a language expert and colleague of Winston Smith. They work together at the Ministry of Truth where all of the propaganda is produced. We first meet Syme in Chapter 5 of Part 1 of the novel when Winston sees his comrade in the dining hall and they sit together and chat. Syme is outspoken and shows little discretion. Winston thinks the man is too clever for his own good. He thinks that people who are as intelligent as Syme never stay in the Party's good graces for long, so there's a chance Syme's life is in danger.
Language & Consciousness
Syme is one of the men working on the new edition of the Newspeak dictionary. Newspeak is the official language of Oceania, a language created by the Party through the revision of Oldspeak, or English. Syme never criticizes the Party or Big Brother. He even shows great interest in their public executions! In conversing with Winston, he mentions several Newspeak terms, such as 'doubleplusgood' and 'duckthink.' Syme tells Winston that the ultimate goal of Newspeak is to manipulate the language of the populace to such an extent that they change consciousness and eliminate even the possibility of 'thoughtcrime.' He tells Winston, 'The Revolution will be complete when the language is perfect.'
Syme's Importance
Syme presents an interesting conundrum to Winston - and to readers. One Newspeak term he doesn't mention is 'doublethink,' but the meaning of this term lies at the heart of the nature of Syme, who has the ability to hold two differing thoughts at the same time. As an intelligent person, Syme is clearly capable of questioning the Party's extreme doctrine; however, he displays only zealous blind faith for it. He's a linguist who shows immense enthusiasm for '...destroying words - scores of them, hundreds of them, every day.' He's a highly knowledgeable character who engages in the harshest form of censorship: that of a totalitarian regime, which involves the elimination and suppression of information.
When Syme disappears in the second part of the novel, Winston notices that his name has been removed from the chess club roster. However, his name wasn't crossed off the list. A new list had been created, and his name didn't appear on it. It was as if he never existed at all. Just like one of the words he destroyed, Syme is erased from consciousness.
Lesson Summary
Let's review…
In 1984, Syme is a minor character, a language expert who works at the Ministry of Truth on the new edition of the Newspeak dictionary. Syme is thrilled by his job, particularly the elimination of words from Oceania's official language. Syme embodies censorship at its most extreme, that of a totalitarian regime. He also presents a conundrum, an intelligent man with unquestioning fervor for the dogma of the ruling class. The character functions as a powerful metaphor in the novel because he lives as he dies, by the destruction of information.
