Winston Smith

• He is the protagonist of 1984 and a member of the Outer Party
• Winston is 39 years old, and he works in the "Ministry of Truth" (p. 45, l. 28) in the "Records Department" (p. 53, l. 16 f.)
• Physically, Winston is not in good shape: he has "a varicose ulcer above his right ankle" (p. 3, l. 17), and apart from that, he lives a rather unhealthy lifestyle. This may also be the reason for his coughing fits, which regularly torment him
• Orwell depicts Winston as someone with "very fair" (p. 4, l. 11) hair and unhealthy dry skin marked by the traces of "blunt razor blades" (p. 4, l. 12)
• Winston does not see himself as attractive, which is why he cannot believe the younger Julia's confession of love at first
• Winston is very attracted to the significantly younger Julia and enters into an affair with her, which is part of his resistance to the totalitarian system
• His work as records editor pleases Winston, although it is clear to him that it serves to distort and misappropriate facts from the past and present
• Despite his apparent party loyalty, Winston Smith keeps a diary in which he secretly writes his thoughts and wishes
• It was not by chance that Orwell gave the name Winston Smith to the protagonist of 1984. Winston stands for the first name of the powerful statesman Winston Churchill and thus for power and strength. Again, the surname Smith represents an ordinary, middle-class name that represents normality and averageness
• The contradictions inherent in the name of the main male character in 1984 also reflect the protagonist's inner conflict. Winston, in the beginning, still rebels against the system and thinks opportunistically. Later on, though, he is shaped by the party into an average Smith who, purified by the brainwashing and the weakness of his character, sheds his defensiveness
• Winston remembers his childhood and the time before the atomic bomb was dropped only vaguely. Sometimes fragmentary memories come back, but these are less beautiful than disturbing anecdotes. In his flashbacks, the protagonist sees himself mostly as a selfish child who was, for example, ruthless against his mother
• Winston had already been married once in his life. Katharine, his former wife, from whom he has now been separated for ten years, is described by the protagonist as "the most stupid, vulgar, empty mind that he had ever encountered" (p. 70, l. 20 f.)

Julia

• The 26-year-old young woman works at the Ministry of Truth in the novel department. In her department, Julia works on a composition machine and is responsible for maintaining an electric motor
• Officially, Julia pretends to be a member of the "Anti-Sex League" (p. 69, l. 31). However, she uses her membership as an opportunity to lead a double life and maintain it behind the pretence of being a loyal party supporter. Inwardly, she rejects the angle from which the "Ingsoc" party (p. 4. l. 25 f.) sees the issues of love and sex
• Julia's idea of rebellion bears pacifist and idealistic traits. She imagines people finding each other through love, acceptance and respect of each individual
• Outwardly, Julia maintains the appearance of a commited party member and wears the "Anti-Sex League's" (p. 69, l. 31) distinctive anti-sex sash around her waist. She also always shows full commitment at the "Two Minutes Hate" (p. 13, l. 6) and passionately shouts along with the slogans of the "Big Brother" (p. 3, l. 22)
• Julia tells Winston at the beginning of their affair that she has already slept with numerous men. She has a very open relationship with her own sexuality and thus behaves contrary to the attitude of the "Ingsoc" (p. 4, l. 25 f.) party, which taboos the subject of sex. The secret love affair with Winston represents for Julia a fundamental inner rebellion against the totalitarian regime, which makes the relationship with Winston even more appealing to her
• The fact that both Julia and Winston betray each other after their arrest and torture in "Room 101" (p. 299, l. 12) shows that despite their love for each other, they are only human. With the emotional betrayal, Orwell also shows that man is fundamentally selfish, this becomes apparent at the latest when it is a matter of life and death

Party official O'Brien

• Thirty-nine-year-old O'Brien is described as a big, burly man with a bull neck and a coarse face
• His clothing consists mostly of black dungarees, which on the one hand represents his attachment to the working people and on the other gives him an authoritarian aura
• To Winston, O'Brien gives the impression that he is an important man in the resistance. But why does the protagonist get this impression from the inner party member? O'Brien is a clever man, but he has decided to abuse his intelligence exclusively for his own benefit. Thus he walks over corpses, his only concern is his own advantage
• Not least because of his numerous connections (due to his party membership), O'Brien manages to make Winston believe that he is working underground against "Big Brother" (p. 3, l. 22). The fact that O'Brien approaches Winston and takes him into his secret alliance is only done to lull Winston into a sense of security, only to then frame him for the ultimate crime
• As a secret agent of the "Thought Police" (p. 5, l. 4), O'Brien enjoys certain advantages that come with his high position. He lives, for example, in a luxurious flat situated away from the working-class neighbourhoods of the "proles" (p. 74, l. 2) on the outskirts of the city

"Big Brother" (p. 3, l. 22)

• "Big Brother" (p. 3, l. 22) is considered the state leader of Oceania. At the same time he is the dictator of the socialist "Ingsoc" (p. 4. l. 25 f.) party and a successful war hero for his supporters. He also boasts of the inventive and philosophical achievements of his regime
• "Big Brother" (p. 3, l. 22) represents the founder of the revolution. He is the face of the party, which on the one hand is meant to inspire respect and awe and on the other to spread fear and terror
• Even though his face comes up again and again, "Big Brother" (p. 3, l. 22) does not, on close inspection, make an actual appearance in the novel. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the party instrumentalises the figure of "Big Brother" (p. 3, l. 22) in order to give the regime a face that its supporters can worship and look up to
• By being the party, "Big Brother" (p. 3, l. 22) will exist as long as the Oceanian regime will exist. For his followers, including O'Brien, he is therefore immortal

Emmanuel Goldstein

• Emmanuel Goldstein, himself a former leader of the "Ingsoc" (p. 4. l. 25 f.) party, was sentenced to death by the regime. However, he managed to escape and subsequently set up a rebel association dedicated to destroying the party
• Goldstein can be seen as the opportunist equivalent of "Big Brother" (p. 3, l. 22), since his existence is no more proven than that of the alleged regime leader. The party uses Goldstein to have a scapegoat for all mischief on whom the citizens of Oceania can dump all their displeasure and discontent
• As a function of scapegoating, Goldstein enables the regime in Oceania to justify all grievances, be it the low living standards, the scarcity of food or any restrictions on citizens. Thus, the existence of Emmanuel Goldstein facilitates the party's assumption of responsibility for everything bad
• The book incorporated in the work, "The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism" (p. 198, l. 4 f.), was written by Goldstein. It summarises both the truth about the party and a model of how to overthrow it

Syme

• Winston's colleague Syme is a linguist who also works in the "Ministry of Truth" (p. 45, l. 28), but his field of activity is different. Syme writes the dictionary for "Newspeak" (p. 51, l. 16). "Newspeak" (p. 51, l. 16) is the official language of Oceania, a language created by the party by revising Oldspeak, which is English
• Since the linguist is very direct and does not hide his opinion, Winston fears that Syme will soon be caught and arrested by the "Thought Police" (p. 5, l. 4). Syme is very intelligent, but he doesn't seem to have the necessary instinct not to say anything at the right moment
• Syme explains the point behind "Newspeak" (p. 51, l. 16) to Winston that only by irreversibly changing language will the revolution and the regime's values work in people's minds in the long run. Because once the language changes, the thoughts inevitably change with it. This is how language controls thoughts