• Winston Smith 

The main protagonist in 1984 is Winston Smith, a skeptical and curious worker under the party of Oceania. Beginning the novel Winston can be seen as a very cautious individual who hides his true emotions and motives for the sake of his safety. When being born and raised in a hellish totalitarian government it can be seen how broken-spirited his character truly is. However his sense of individuality prospers him as a character and helps him build into himself as a person. His first act of rebellion was buying a diary from Mr. Charrington’s antique store. Being able to vent his frustrations he turns his thoughts to words. It brings fulfillment and motive to him as a person. When finally turning his motive to action he is able to do small acts against the part. These include continuing to visit the antique shop as well as looking for answers about the past. 

His fascination with the past leads him to the antique shop again where he runs into a woman who seemingly has been watching him. When finally being able to talk to the woman who showed her admiration towards him he is shown in a different light. He becomes passionate and is able to vent a more human side to another human being. Winston says after spending intimate moments with Julia his poor physical and mental wellbeing had changed drastically. Along with the passionate side of their affairs he fulfills his needs of rebellion against the party. By being intimate with another woman that is not his wife he finds purpose and individuality in himself. 

Another important character to Winston's character development was O’Brien. After Winstons suspicions being proved correct about the inner party member being in the brotherhood, his hopes skyrocket. He is finally able to be part of a movement that will change Oceania for good.

Unfortunately this is not the case. When Winston is taken in for committing thoughtcrime O’Brien is in charge of his ability to love Big Brother. Though O’Brien puts Winston through so much pain he can't help but feel a love for O’Brien. It was Stockholm syndrome, the fact O’Brien had control over Winston's pain and would often release the pain made Winston feel loved by him. In some contexts it may even be a sexual love for O'Brien; a passion to be with a man in such power could be a potential for Winston. Only Winston himself knows his real feelings and even then he seems to struggle with what is real love and what isn't. Winston is full of many different wish washed feelings about everything so he can never have a set grasp on how he truly feels. 

• Julia  

Julia is a member of the anti-sex league as well as a worker under the party Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. She is the main love interest of Winston and is the only other person who understands and sympathizes with him. She is a passionate and boisterous person who avidly hates the party. Unlike Winston her acts of rebellion are selfish in the name of pleasure and revolt. Her actions have no incentive other than servicing herself and Winston. Her liking towards sex and corruption of the party is what drew her to Winston. 

Both dislike the party however her perspective is almost stagnant compared to Winston. She wishes to live in the present and enjoy their lives now. Unlike Winston she does not care for the past as it doesn't benefit her in any way. She isn't interested in the future of the brotherhood either, as she doesn't have any real hope in it. When joining the brotherhood her only condition is that she isn't separated from Winston. It is evident she does not have as much interest in the brotherhood as Winston does. But because of her deep love for Winston she follows him in his strive for a better future. 

• Mr. O’Brien

A man of power and success. Just by the way he approaches himself in any situation would make anyone below him aspire to be him. He holds a sense of class. When working in the offices with Winston he is admired by the little man just by the way he presents himself. His home is very nice considering he is a man of the inner party. He’s stern and seems to know a lot about the society that they live in. He doesn't take orders, he makes them. Even after revealing being a corrupt person of the inner party and putting Winston through so much torture he is still loved by Winston giving him the great power and holding his charisma of being a leader.

Throughout the story O'Brien has us all fooled. We think he is a noble man with intentions to save the society they live in. We later find out it was apart of his grand plan to capture Winston. He plays a major role of showing how evil ''Big Brother" is. We also notice that the people wether in the inner party or not never know who works for the party. This shows even more power the party holds because it can easily manipulate people into having faith in anyone. O'Brien did just that. He kept his tittle in the society a secret and it worked in benefit for "Big Brother" making them stronger.