1984 Characters Analysis
Winston Smith - A middle-aged worker from the Department of Truth in the Ministry of Truth. Winston is responsible for editing old printed articles, newspapers, and other periodicals so that they do not ever indicate that Big Brother was wrong about anything. He is also required to erase the identities of people who have been vaporized, although the actual work involved in making the changes is carried out by another department. The book follows Winston as he falls in love with a woman from his department, an act that is outlawed in the Dystopian world of the book.
Julia - A young twenty-six-year-old woman who works in the Fiction Department of the Ministry of Truth. Julia is a mechanic who works on one of the novel printing machines of the ministry, although she secretly rebels against the Party by sleeping with random men from the Party. Julia approaches Winston for this very reason, however, the two begin to nurture close feelings for one another. The two of them spend an extensive amount of time together as Winston rents a secret room for their use in the poorer section of their city. They eventually agree to rebel against the Party and join the brotherhood, but they learn later that they were being set up. Winston and Julia’s relationship falls apart after they are forced to betray one another when they are being tortured by the Party.
Parsons - A fat and sweaty man who fits the Party’s vision of an ideal citizen since he is so thoroughly entrenched in the Party ideology. Winston thinks that Parsons is too stupid to ever commit a thoughtcrime or be vaporized for any reason, which is why he is so surprised when Parsons is brought to the same holding cell. Winston learns that although Parsons had appeared to be at peace with the Party on the surface, he had harbored deep resentment that had only come forth when he had been talking in his sleep. Parsons’ young daughter, a devout member of the spies, had heard Parsons talking in his sleep and so had reported him to the thought police.
O’Brien - A senior member of the Inner Party who works in the Ministry of Truth. O’Brien entraps Winston into committing a thoughtcrime since Winston believes that O’Brien is his ally against the Party without ever having to him first. Winston claims to have heard a voice in a dream-like state in which O’Brien had promised him that they would meet in a place without darkness. Eventually, O’Brien entraps both Winston and Julia into committing open rebellion as they approach him to join the Brotherhood, a rebellion group said to be led by a public enemy called Emmanuel Goldstein. O’Brien becomes the chief interrogator for Winston as he explains to him how long they had been following and studying him. He explains that the chief aim of the Ministry of Love was not to punish rebels but rather to convert them.
Big Brother - The fictitious figurehead of the Party of Oceania, whose face is plastered all across the country, warning people that he is watching them. No one in the book truly ever talks about Big Brother in great detail, although Winston learns that there is no Big Brother, and the character is simply a symbol through which the inner Party exercises its power.
