1-How each character started and developed

2-Each character’s beliefs

3-What each character symbolizes
4-Mini-analysis of minor characters (honorable mentions)

1 start and development

Winston
The overall development and change in Winston can be described as two things. Hope vs
Despair and Illusion vs Reality.
Hope vs Despair
His sense of self
He feels weak, insignificant and powerless in the face of the Party. He believes he is alone in
his thoughts and is extremely paranoid (justifiably so).
After meeting Julia - drastic change, gains confidence, feels like a real rebel and starts to
believe in the possibility of resistance. Also makes him less alert, which leads to him getting
caught.
After torture - he is completely broken, no longer believes that anyone can break the Party, but
the seed of rebellion is still in him until the end of the book.

His attitude towards rebellion

First - He despises the Party, but only rebels in small, secret ways (writing in his diary,
questioning reality). In his opinion, you can rebel against the Party by knowing what is true and
what is not. He believes that as long as he can think, the Party has not won.
After meeting Julia - because he is much more confident in himself and his power, his rebellion
becomes much more active, he joins the Brotherhood and reads the book written by Goldstein.
After room 101 - although he is completely broken and still doesn't accept the party the way
they want him to, his act of rebellion has completely gone.

Illusion vs Reality
Understanding of the Party
At first - he believes that the Party is very manipulative but has many flaws and is constantly
thinking of ways to bring the Party down, an example of this is that he believes that the strength
lies in the proles.
After talking to O'Brien - who believes in his powers and that there is a brotherhood, starts to
see most of the flaws in the party.
After the tortures - realises that the Party is eternal because it is not an organisation, it is a way
of thinking, and as long as everyone believes in it, it is eternal. It is also unbeatable because it
can actually control people's minds and thoughts, including reality.
Julia

Actions

At first - Rebels quietly in ways that bring her personal pleasure (having affairs, wearing
makeup, sneaking around). She avoids anything that could seriously endanger her life.

After meeting Winston - She becomes more involved in rebellion, reading Goldstein’s book and
discussing the Party’s structure, though she still doesn’t fully believe in large-scale resistance.

Thinking

At first - Her rebellion is shallow—she doesn’t care about ideology, only about breaking rules for
fun. She believes the Party can be tricked, as long as one is clever.

After Winston’s influence - She starts to think more deeply about how the Party works but
remains practical rather than ideological. She still doesn’t believe in true rebellion, only in
avoiding control for as long as possible.

Illusion vs. Reality

Illusion - She believes the Party can’t see everything, that you can outsmart it if you’re careful.
She also believes their love makes them stronger.

Reality - After their capture, she realizes the Party’s power is absolute. She betrays Winston
without hesitation, showing that no personal connection can overcome the Party’s control.

O’Brien - a character who doesn’t change—only our understanding of him does.

First of all, throughout the whole book it is very hard to think of O’Brien as an enemy because
we read it from the Wisnton’s view, and Wisnton is someone who has hope and wants to
believe in the good outcome.

Initial perception - from the beginning to the end we can tell and it is confirmed that O'Brien is a
person of high intelligence and he gives us this mysterious, possibly rebellious vibe. Our first
acquaintance with this character was when Winston made eye contact with him, and from those
seconds he thought he could not explain why O'Brien was also against the Party.

The illusion of Rebellion - As O’Brien has said, he was waiting 7 years for the right moment to
catch Winston. And in the right moment O’Brien gives him the book, reinforcing the illusion that
there’s hope against the Party. Here we can see that Winston sees O’Brien as a mentor and
continues to even after the tortures.

Final perception - O’Brien reveals that he is the embodiment of the Party and it’s ideology, and
every single Inner Party member is like that. We can see that he is not a hypocrite—he
genuinely believes in the Party’s ideology and enforces it without hesitation. He is also the
person who showed Winston the new level of intelligence.
2 Each character’s beliefs and motivations

From here I'll try to emphasise Winston's character more than the others, since he is the main
character and has most of the basic concepts described in the book. This discussion will also
answer the question of why Winston did not succeed.

1) Belief in objective truth - 2+2=4

The belief and the fact that truth exists beyond the Party's ideology and manipulations. He also
understands that the past, changing history, is one of the Party's greatest weapons, which is
why, unlike Julia, he clings to past events. He remembers every little detail and is able to fit
those details into the bigger picture.
2) Thought is Rebellion
You could say that Winston thinks that thinking is a greater crime against the Party than acting.
And it is interesting how it is the same for the Party, they do not care if you obey them, they
want you to actually believe in their manipulations.
3) The never-dying hope for freedom
No matter what Winston always had had the hope. It is the hope that the Party mostly took from
him, but even at the end he still dreamt about betraying the Party. He hoped from the very start
for O’Brien to be a part of the Brotherhood, put his hope into the proles, hoped that people like
Mr. Charrington survived.
4) Naturally Intelligent
There's no denying that Winston is highly intelligent, perhaps as intelligent as O'Brien. No
matter how much the Party tries to brainwash and torture him, his natural instinct remains the
same. The idea of rebellion never dies in him, it never goes away. And they can't really
brainwash Winston as much as they want to because he's naturally intelligent. And so he
criticises the Party, he criticises totalitarianism, and he is in a constant struggle with himself, in a
constant loop.
The struggle and the reason why Winston got caught is because of this loop of hope and
intelligence. He has the intelligence to understand the gravity of the situation, but the hope in
him never dies. He believes that the power the Party has should free people, not enslave them.
He wonders if he can rebel, destroy the Party on his own (though he understands that he can't),
but over time he comes to the conclusion that he needs collectivism to actually have a chance.
In the end, he is left wondering if any resistance is possible in this regime.
Now if we compare some of the characters beliefs with Winston.

The Party isn’t considered an idealist because it isn’t driven by a vision of higher moral or ethical
ideals—it’s solely focused on maintaining power and control. Instead of striving to achieve a
noble or principled end, the Party uses pragmatic, often ruthless methods (like surveillance,
propaganda, and torture) to reshape reality and eliminate any form of individual thought that
might threaten its dominance. Its goal is not to pursue an abstract ideal but to enforce absolute
conformity and collectivism.

Another character we should focus on is ofcourse O’Brien. If they asked you to choose 2
characters that show the main idea of the book, those characters would surely be Winston and
O’Brien. O’Brien is one of the most if not the most complex characters in 1984. This character is
literally not just the embodiment of the Party - but the embodiment of ‘doublethink’ itself. O'Brien
demonstrates a remarkable control over his analytical skills. He can engage deeply with
complex ideas when it serves the Party’s goals and then seemingly "turn off" that critical edge
when it’s necessary to enforce ideology or manipulate others. He can accept the Party's
contradictory principles without cognitive dissonance.
3 - what each character symbolizes
Winston as hope and the desire for freedom
Winston embodies the human longing for truth and liberty, representing that even in a dystopia,
some will dare to resist. He also symbolizes the last man. In the end, Winston’s fate as the
broken, defeated individual symbolizes the ultimate collapse of individual resistance. He
becomes the "last man"—the final remnant of free thought, isolated and utterly subdued by the
Party’s overwhelming power.

Julia as the detached representative of the younger generation

Her attitude reflects that many people in society adopt a similar approach

O’Brien as the embodiment of the Party

O’Brien isn’t merely an individual; he represents the entire class of inner party members whose
collective power ensures the Party’s dominance.His ability to toggle between analytical insight
and dogmatic enforcement exemplifies the Party’s manipulation of truth. He is one among many
whose combined efforts create the omnipresent, mind-controlling force of the Party.

Parsons as the mindless masses

He is the archetype of the average Party member - utterly submissive, unthinking and utterly
indoctrinated. Parsons is one of many who blindly follow without question.

Syme as dangerous intelligence

Syme shows that even smart people who understand how the Party manipulations can still be
absorbed by the system. In a society that values uniformity over independent thought, even
perceptive individuals like him are easily discarded(vaporized) when they become inconvenient.

And there are many Winstons, Julias, O’Briens, Symes Parsons.

4-Mini-analysis of minor characters (honorable mentions)

Syme - Even smart people who understand how the Party manipulates language are ultimately
absorbed by the system. His keen insight makes him dangerous, and when someone becomes
too perceptive, the Party discards them without hesitation.

Parsons - Parsons symbolizes the mindless masses—those who obey without question. His
complete indoctrination and lack of critical thought illustrate how the Party cultivates a
population that never challenges its authority.
Prole Woman singing outside Mr. Charrington’s shop - She embodies hope and the enduring
spirit of the people. Her spontaneous expression of song suggests that even under totalitarian
rule, the human spirit can persist, hinting at the potential for freedom among the proles.

Mr. Charrington - Initially a symbol of nostalgia and a link to the past, his ultimate betrayal
reveals the deceptive nature of appearances. His role as a Thought Police agent underscores
the pervasive surveillance and manipulation inherent in the regime.

Two minutes hate and Goldstein - He is the manufactured villain the Party uses to channel
citizens' anger. Goldstein unites people in hatred and serves as a scapegoat, even though his
real existence is questionable.

Big Brother - Big Brother was created as the ultimate object of love and devotion. Unlike
Goldstein, who serves as a scapegoat to channel hatred, Big Brother is meant to inspire
unwavering loyalty and adoration. His image ensures that citizens not only fear but also revere
the regime, reinforcing total control over both emotions and actions.