1984 Characters

Winston Smith

The central character of the novel, he is a minor bureaucrat who hates the Party and one day dreams of joining the opposition movement.

Big Brother

Big Brother is the Party’s figurehead and proclaimed leader, whose image appears on posters everywhere. Whether or not he is alive—or may ever have been alive—is a question left unanswered.

Julia

Involved romantically with Winston, she is a younger woman who also abhors the Party.

O’Brien

A member of the Inner Party, he fools Smith into believing he is involved with the opposition.

Emmanuel Goldstein

The leader of an opposition group called the Brotherhood, Goldstein is a former Party member. Goldstein, too, maybe a fabrication and not someone who really exists.

Parsons

He is an ardent, loyal Party member.

Mrs. Parsons

Winston’s neighbor and a very timid woman who is perpetually fearful of her own children.

The Parsons’ children

A boy and a girl who are loyal Party members and always on the lookout for traitors.

Winston’s father

He disappears during one of Party’s first great purges. Winston remembers him only faintly.

Winston’s mother

Respected by Winston for her dignity and strong moral code, she most likely also disappeared during one of the Party’s purges. Winston’s sister also disappears with his mother.

Syme

A co-worker at the Ministry of Truth, Syme updates Oceania’s Newspeak dictionary. He is a smart and loyal member of the party. Due to his inability to fit in, however, he falls victim to the Thought Police.

Tillotson

Hired to do some of the same jobs as Winston, Tillotson is usually the subject of Winston’s suspicion and paranoia. He is also one of Winston’s acquaintances.

Katharine

She is Winston’s estranged wife. Her whereabouts are unknown to Winston.

Ampleforth

He is a poet who is inevitably caught by the Thought Police. His story shows the Party’s abhorrence toward artists.

Charrington

A secret-agent of the Party who pretends to own an antique shop in the proletarian section of town. He is instrumental in Winston’s arrest.

Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford

They are former Party members who are later branded as traitors and forced to disappear.