Author: George Orwell
Main Characters (Protagonist/Antagonist), Title, & Traits:
Winston Smith (Protagonist): 39 years old, goes against the Party but is consistently paranoid about being caught. Rebellious, intellectual, and sick (varicose veins), he resists the Party’s attempts to extract and destroy his uniqueness. He concerns himself with the “big picture” of society. He despises the party and speculates about what is, what has been, and what will be.
Julia: Considerably younger than Winston, Winston’s lover has had affairs with many members of the Party. Julia has a smaller perspective than Winston and rebels against the party only for the immediate personal benefits. She is focused only on enjoying her life and is not …show more content…
He commits “thoughtcrime” by writing in a diary (“Down with Big Brother”) and from that moment on assumes he is doomed. Winston spends his time wandering through the neighborhoods of the Proles, who are given a social status so low they are not monitored by the totalitarian control of the Party. Winston becomes fascinated with O’Brien, a man he believes to be a part of an anti-Party organization called the Brotherhood. Winston meets a young girl in the place where he works. He assumes she is a member of the thought police when he catches her staring at him. The girl, Julia, sends him a message saying “I love you,” and Winston learns she hates the Party as much as he does. The two have a secret affair and rent a room above a shop from a Prole. His relationship with Julia prompts Winston to despise the Party even more. Soon Winston receives word that O’Brien wants to see him. He is taken to O’Brien’s world, which is luxurious beyond anything he has ever experienced. O’Brien gives Winston a written copy of the manifesto of the Brotherhood, written by known Party rebel and fugitive Emmanuel Goldstein. When Winston and Julia read the book, they are stormed by Party soldiers and turned in by Mr. Charrington, the Prole who owns the shop, who has been a member of the thought police all along. Winston and Julia are separated and taken to the Ministry of Love,