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Winston Smith
A minor member of the ruling Party in near-future London, Winston Smith is a thin, frail, contemplative, intellectual, and fatalistic thirty-nine-year-old. Winston hates the totalitarian control and enforced repression that are characteristic of his government. He harbors revolutionary dreams.
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Julia
Winston’s lover, a beautiful dark-haired girl working in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. Julia enjoys sex and claims to have had affairs with many Party members. Julia is pragmatic and optimistic. Her rebellion against the Party is small and personal, for her own enjoyment, in contrast to Winston’s ideological motivation.
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O’Brien
A mysterious, powerful, and sophisticated member of the Inner Party whom Winston believes is also a member of the Brotherhood, the legendary group of anti-Party rebels.
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Big Brother
Though he never appears in the novel, and though he may not actually exist, Big Brother, the perceived ruler of Oceania, is an extremely important figure. Everywhere Winston looks he sees posters of Big Brother’s face bearing the message
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Mr. Charrington
An old man who runs a secondhand store in the prole district. Kindly and encouraging, Mr. Charrington seems to share Winston’s interest in the past. He also seems to support Winston’s rebellion against the Party and his relationship with Julia, since he rents Winston a room without a telescreen in which to carry out his affair. But Mr. Charrington is not as he seems. He is a member of the Thought Police.
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Syme
An intelligent, outgoing man who works with Winston at the Ministry of Truth. Syme specializes in language. As the novel opens, he is working on a new edition of the Newspeak dictionary. Winston believes Syme is too intelligent to stay in the Party’s favor.
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Parsons
An obnoxious and dull Party member who lives near Winston and works at the Ministry of Truth. He has a dull wife and a group of suspicious, ill-mannered children who are members of the Junior Spies.
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Emmanuel Goldstein
Another figure who exerts an influence on the novel without ever appearing in it. According to the Party, Goldstein is the legendary leader of the Brotherhood. He seems to have been a Party leader who fell out of favor with the regime. In any case, the Party describes him as the most dangerous and treacherous man in Oceania.
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Katharine
Winston’s estranged wife. Although she never appears in the novel outright, Winston cannot help but contrast her unwavering orthodoxy and suppressed sexuality with Julia’s proudly rebellious nature. The stark differences between Katharine and Julia allow them to function as foil characters for one another.
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Mrs. Parsons
The wife of Parsons, Winston’s next-door neighbor. Mrs. Parsons may only be thirty, but raising her overly eager, Party-serving children has taken quite a toll on her. She almost gets a glance at Winston’s diary when she comes over to ask him to look at her broken sink.
The Red-Armed Prole Woman
A lower-class woman who frequently sings while working in the yard next to Mr. Charrington’s shop. Winston admires her for her strength and resilience, and he imagines that she could raise the next generation of proles to rebel against the Party. As a result, the Red-Armed Prole Woman functions as a symbol of freedom and hope for the future.
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