1984 Characters

Sources

There is a LOT of information about 1984 online. Most of the information in this presentation comes directly from:

Shelby, C. (2007). Classic Notes. Gradesaver LLC.

Winston

• Protagonist
• Party member
• amateur intellectual with secret, but strong, negative feelings for the Party.
• develops feelings for Julia - leading to his downfall. 
• couple is arrested and Winston is tortured in the Ministry of Love until he loses all rebellious thoughts and gains a love for Big Brother. 

Julia

• Party member who despises the Party. 
• accepts the power that the Party holds over her until meeting Winston
• simple-minded and interested only in her own survival and personal rebellion - not in the resurgence of democracy
• is broken during her time in the Ministry of Love

O'Brien

• Prominent Inner Party member
• Allows Winston to feel a bond with him
• Leads Winston to believe he is part of an underground movement against the Party.
• Helps turn Winston in for thoughtcrime and tortures him in the Ministry of Love.
• Contradicting characteristics: fatherly, tender, but also a torturer!

Other Characters

Big Brother, Mr & Mrs Parsons, Tillotson, Ampleforth, Syme, Katharine, Mr. Charrington, Martin, Comrade Withers, Comrade Ogilvy, Jones, Aaronson and Rutherford, Wilsher, Prole Washer Woman, Starving Man, Bumstead

Themes

Orwell uses each of the following themes to illustrate the dangers and reiterate his warning about totalitarian regimes. 

You need to be able to write about these themes using examples from the book. 

• totalitarianism
• propaganda
• love/sexuality
• independence/identity
• music
• loyalty
• poverty vs. wealth
• technology
• language

1. How are the themes on the left present throughout the novel, 1984?
2. How does Orwell's experience help him write about these themes?
3. Which of the other novels from our course also cover the same themes?

Totalitarianism

In his years in the Imperial Police, in the Spanish Civil War, and as a political correspondent during WWII, Orwell was exposed to a variety of totalitarian regimes, and felt compelled to warn the world of their dangers. In writing 1984, Orwell sought to create and explore a society in which all personal liberties fall victim to an all-powerful, omnipresent government. Orwell was a Socialist who believed in political rebellion and its potential to advance society, but he saw merit in neither Communism nor Fascism, and in his creation of Oceania and Ingsoc, he draws out and denounces both.  

Totalitarianism cont. 

In composing this novel, Orwell gave the world a glimpse of what the embrace of communism might lead to if allowed to proceed unchecked. The Party is unflawed in its universal control over society, as evidenced by its ability to break even an independent thinker such as Winston, and has mastered every aspect of psychological control, largely through utilizing technological developments to their advantage. In ending the novel with Winston defeated in every sense of the term, Orwell clearly suggests that there is no hope for quelling the expansion of growth of such a perfectly established regime. (A clear and present danger in the world looking at Communism as a viable solution.)

Propaganda

The propaganda machine is extremely well-organized in Oceania. The Minitrue disseminates all (retouched) Party publications and information. Accuracy is not a goal. The Party chooses exactly what to tell the public and is not afraid to constantly correct old material to reflect the  Party's current position on any subject. Therefore, O'Brien determines what constitutes reality. 

Additionally, the Two Mintues of Hate, Hateweek, posters of Big Brother, and the required daily participation of Physical Jerks are also regularly used forms of propaganda. Together, this propaganda helps create full loyalty to the Party. Orwell's presentation of the power of propaganda is a warning against totalitarianism. If propaganda rules all information, it is impossible to have a grasp on reality. The world is as the Party defines it. 

Love and Sexuality

Orwell devotes a great deal of time to the role that sexual desire plays in Oceanian society, using the character of Julia in particular. The novel asserts that sex and love are counterproductive to totalitarian ends, that a totalitarian government like the Party wants to use energy that would be expended on sex for patriotic fervor. The state wants a person's total devotion, his or her complete passion: O'Brien's claim that the Party plans to "abolish the orgasm" underscores this theme. 

Independence/Identity

The Party destroys all sense of independencen and individuality through a barrage of psychological manipulation tactics. Can you name them? 

Life is uniform and no one can be unique as that would require committing thoughtcrime. 

Winston begins as an intellectual who is still capable of free and independent thought. He records this in his journal (serious thought crime). 

This theme comes to a head when during his torture, he argues that because he is a man, O'Brien cannot tell him what to do. O'Brien counters that if he is a man, he's the last man on earth. Independence is evidence of insanity. O'Brien's view represents the purity of a totalitarian regime. Winston and Julia's downfall occurs because they believe they are special. 

Music

Songs and nursury rhymes appear throughout the novel, most often when Winston is feeling emotional (which might be dangerous) or reflecting on the state of the world. Music inspires Winston and allows him to see beauty in simplicity in an otherwise violent, ugly, and frightening world. 

"Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree" = tragedy

the thrush's song = hope for a brighter future

"St. Clements Dane" = respect for  the tru, untouchable past

Prole woman's rhyme = freedom and hope 

Loyalty

The Party is fueled by loyalty (acceptance without thought or hesitation). Ironically, when Winston pledges his loyalty to the Brotherhood, he also agrees to accept the goals and requirements of the Brotherhood without question or hesitation - even the murdering of innocents.

There is ONE thing he won't do. There is one loyalty he refuses to betray...

... until he betrays it. 

Julia

Poverty vs. Wealth

Oceanian society presents a clear dichotomy of living conditions. The small Inner Party lives in relative luxury while the rest of the Party members live in drab, run-down, single-room apartments. The Proles live in absolute poverty. Orwell illustrates the difference between the wealth of the Inner Party and the poverty of the Proles by allowing Winston to visit both. 

Technology

The omnipresent telescreen exemplifies technology's chokehold on the society that Orwell envisions. Drawing upon the technological advances of his time, Orwell portrays the climate of paranoia and fear created when the government has the consistent ability to eavesdrop on its citizens. 

Imagine what Orwell would have thought of today's technology. 

Language

Orwell was the author of "Politics and the English Language," an essay on the political influence of writing and speech, and he explores that theme further in 1984.  Newspeak, the official language of Oceania, aims to "narrow the range of thought," and Orwell draws out that theme in a number of characters, including Winston's estranged wife, Katherine. 

Newspeak plays an extremely important role in Oceanian society and the Party's control over its population. As Syme says, Newspeak reduces and limits the number of words in the English language, and removes words used to describe rebellion or independence. 

Language

Orwell was the author of "Politics and the English Language," an essay on the  political influence of writing and speech, and he explores that theme further in 1984.  Newspeak, the official language of Oceania, aims to "narrow the range of thought," and Orwell draws out that theme in a number of characters, including Winston's estranged wife, Katherine. 

Newspeak plays an extremely important role in Oceanian society and the Party's control over its population. As Syme says, Newspeak reduces and limits the number of words in the English language, and removes words used to describe rebellion or independence. 

Narrative structure

With the exception of 'the book' within the novel,1984 is written in third person limited. 

WHY?

3-Part Structure

Part One: Focus on Winston Smith's day-to-day life as a Party member and the structure of Oceanian society

Part Two: Portyays the changes of Winston's life when he takes Julia as his lover - an act of passion and rebellion

Part Three: Describes Winston's torture at the hands of O'Brien in the Ministry of Love and how Winston is forced to become a true Party member by brutal and potent means. 

Climax

The climax of the novel takes place in the Ministry of Love in Part Three when Winston is sent to "Room 101" to confront his worst fear: rats. He avoids death by rats by betraoying his lover, Julia, and begging O'Brien to inflict the punishment on her instead. This represents the Party's complete domination of Winston. 

Question

1. What upsets Winston about Mrs. Parson's children?

Answer

Winston can see political indoctrination at work in (and through) the children - although they're playing with toys, it's "not altogether a game."  He also observes that Mrs. Parsons can't control her children, which makes him consider the fact that the children turn their parents in for political unorthodoxy, and that "family" really means very little in Oceanian society. 

Questions

1. The rocket bombs seem like a regular occurrence in the prole quarters. Why might that be the case?
2. Why does Winston love Julia more knowing that she has been sexually promiscuous?
3. What do you think of Julia's planning? What does that tell her about her character?

A: Rocket Bombs

1. At first, we assume that the rocket bombs come from the war with Eurasia. This IS possible, but it is worth considering other possibilities in this dystopian world. Is it possible that the Party is setting off the rocket bombs to keep the proles in a constant state of terror or anxiety, as some form of control against a rebellion? 

A: Julia's Promiscuity

Eroticism and desire are enemies of the Party. If Julia had many lovers, that makes her more of a rebel, which in turn makes Winston feel more intimately connected to her. She has stood up to the Party in her own private way by having a sexual life outside of procreation, just as Winston has done by keeping a journal. 

A: Julia's Planning

For not being very bright, Julia is clearly a keen observer of people. She spotted Winston's rebellious inclinations despite his attempts to appear neutral. She knows how to avoid detection by the Party. She probably enjoys adventures and is a risk-taker, but is still invested in protecting herself and Winston. 

Questions

1. If the Brotherhood cannot meet as a group, what is its purpose?
2. When Winston says "The proles are human beings," what does "being human" mean to him?
3. What makes Winston trust O'Brien?

A: The Brotherhood Meeting

It's possible that there the Brotherhood has no purpose. However, Winston believes that it is a way of showing resistance to the Party's ultimate control. It ensures that there are elements of society and thought that the Party cannot control. It is also possible that the Brotherhood will someday be able to meet as a group - after the rebellion is accomplished. 

A: Winston trusts O'Brien

O'Brien is reaching out to Winston, trying to speak to him alone. O'Brien shows Winston and Julia that he can behave in an unorthodox manner, and turns off the telescreen in order to speak to them. He tells them about the Brotherhood and its practices and he seems to recognize Winston's dreams and allusions without questioning their sources. 

Is it real or is it an act?

Questions P2, ix-x; P3 i-iii 

1. Why does Orwell include the scene between the chinless man and the skull-faced man in the cell? (Part 3, Ch. 1?)
2. Do you think O'Brien is telling the truth about Julia?
3. In what ways to the philosophies laid out in the book parallel the way society functions today? 

A: The chinless man scene

The scene emphasizes the terrifying mystery of "Room 101"; however it also shows that any act of generosity or compassion is punished severely in the Ministry of Love and that all possibility of human connection has been eliminated or destroyed. 

A: The truth about Julia

We can be reasonably certain that Julia has confessed to a wide variety of crimes she did and did NOT commit - just like Winston. But keep in mind that O'Brien agrees that Winston has NOT betrayed Julia. Julia may have acted as Winston has, or, given that she is portrayed as far less intellectual and not at all invested in political ideas, she might well have been easier to break. 

A: Parallels with today's society

War (or threat of war) still keeps people complacent. Think about how we treat countries threatening nuclear attacks...

Consider how the novel, 1984,  changed politics and the ways people discuss political issues. 

What about surveillance - specifically high-tech surveillance? 

This is one of the points in the novel that as a reader, I'm begging for the third person omniscient view to show Julia's side. 

How would that have changed things for the reader? Are we under the same not knowing stress as Winston?

Questions

1. What does Winston realize when he hallucinates about Julia?
2. Why is it important that Winston tells O'Brien to torture Julia instead?
3. When does Winston realize that the Party has beaten him?
4. Is there any hope at the end of the novel? 

A: Winston's realization

Winston realizes that he can accept the Party's orthodoxy while secretly continuing to hate it (a kind of doublethink). The Party had been controlling his mind, but not his deepest beliefs, and his feelings for Julia remain capable of overcoming his mental control. 

A: Importance of betrayal of Julia

THIS IS THE MOMENT Winston loses his humanity and surrenders to the Party. His relationship with Julia was both an act of rebellion and an act of genuine human emotion and desire. When threatened with the worst thing imaginable, Winston volunteers Julia for the torture without being prompted to do so by O'Brien. Welcome to the Darkside, Winston.