1984 Orwell Notes

Characters
Winston Smith – main character who wants revolution he is somewhat of an intelligent person compared to his counterparts and he is also an older middle aged civil servant who works at the Ministry of Truth and is responsible for historical revision of all records, also the novel’s protagonist. He despises totalitarian control and practically everything about his government.
Julia – works in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. She is also Winston’s lover and is very promiscuous and likes to partake in related activities that go against Big Brother’s laws such as sex. Her resentment against the Party is a personal issue and compared to Winston’s dreams of rebellion is mild.
O’Brien – member of Inner Party but Winston believes he is actually a member of The Brotherhood, an underground resistance of anti-Party rebels.
The Party – ruling caste of Oceania, which runs all branches of government as well as makes and enforces all laws and punishments.
Big Brother – on posters, coins and telescreens all throughout Oceania with messages that say “Big Brother is watching you,” Big Brother is the perceived ruler of Oceania whose actual existence is unknown and sometimes questioned by Winston.
Emmanuel Goldstein – “leader” of The Brotherhood and frequent target of The Party and their Two Minutes of Hate. Previously prominent figure of the Inner Party yet never physically appears in the book.
Mr. Charrington – kind and encouraging old man who runs a secondhand store in the prole district. He seems to be interested in the past just like Winston and seems to support Winston’s rebellion against the Party and his relationship with Julia. Mr. Charrington rents the two lovebirds a room without a telescreen in which to carry out his affair. But later on into the book, Mr. Charrington is actually revealed to be a member of the Thought Police.
Syme – smart, outgoing male co-worker of Winston at Ministry of Truth in Research Department, specializes in language and works on newest edition of Oceania’s Newspeak dictionary. Winston believes he is too intelligent to stay in the Party’s favor, becomes true when he is vaporized, erased from existence. Syme proves that even if one is fervent in excessively abiding by Big Brother, he too can never not be seen as a threat. In short, Winton’s closest thing to a friend (as opposed to “comrade”) who was very orthodox but intelligent thus vaporized.
Parsons - obnoxious, dull male Party member who neighbors Winston and is his co-worker at the Ministry of Truth. Has a dull, frail old wife and a two annoying suspicious, bad kids of the Junior Spies. Daughter imprisons him by reporting him saying “down with Big Brother” in his sleep.
Aaronson, Jones, and Rutherford—former Inner Party members who Winston remembers way before Big Brother as the original leaders of the Revolution. All confessed to wrong doings and were executed. Winston seen them drinking at the Chestnut Tree Café a few times with broken noses, probably given to them through torture. Winston sees newspaper evidence contradicting their confessions.
Glossary
Chestnut Tree Café – thought by Winston to be a place of solace near the end of the novel. Winston recalled seeing former Inner Party members who were executed drinking tea there. Ill omened place that gave the idea of freedom of expression.
Comrade – term everyone in Oceania uses to refer to each other as opposed to personal names in the Party and their efforts to rid Oceania of their sense of community and personhood.
Crimestop – protective stupidity or faculty of stopping short as though by instinct at the threshold of any dangerous thought it includes the power of not grasping analogies of failing to perceive logical errors of misunderstanding the simplest arguments if they are inimical to Ingsoc, being bored or repelled at any train of thought which is capable of leading in a heretical direction.
Crimethink – to even consider any thought not in line with the principles of The Party.
Doublethink – “blackwhite,” act of holding two contradictory beliefs at the same time and also fervently believing both. (ie: Ministry of Peace involving itself with War, Ministry of Truth with Lies, Ministry of Love with Torture, and Ministry of Plenty with basically, starvation.)
Ear trumpets – what the Party considers “toys” given to children of the Junior Spy League for listening through key holes in order to weed out rebels and that gives them the right idea and sense of what the Party stands for and what is expected of them.
Eternal guardian of the weak – Winston uses this term to refer to how Big Brother sees himself.
Facecrime - to look incredulous when a victory is announced, a crime in itself just by having what the Party considers “inadequate” facial expressions.”
Groupthink – implemented by the Party to refer to the term of common consensus by all, or group (of Oceanian people) to enforce the idea that whatever happens, happens in all minds.
Ingsoc - newspeak for English socialism which is the political ideology of the Oceanian Party government ruled by Big Brother, also a socialist revolution led by Emmanuel Goldstein and Big Brother. Yet, rejects all original ideas, which the socialist movement stood for in the name of Socialism. Basically, a complicated system of psychological control that compels confession to imagined crimes and the forgetting of rebellious thought in order to love Big Brother and the Party over everything for ultimate political control. The object of power is power. Sees power as not a means, but instead, an end.
Inner Party – status just below Big Brother in Oceania’s social caste system which is filled with “upper-class” members who make policy, and govern as well as make up less than two percent of Oceania’s population.
Inner Party Member – Party members in the Inner Party who live in big houses and have a better supply of goods and living necessities, have better neighborhoods where no Outer Party members or Proles can enter unless authorized or with reason. Not subject to exemption from brutality due to thoughtcrime or rebellion yet given other special privileges, bribes.
Joycamp – forced work and labor camp.Junior Anti-Sex League – fanatical group against sex as pleasure devised in order to deplete happiness and free will of Oceania’s population.
Junior League – teaches youth to be child spies, in favor of the Party interests, and accept the facts of the Party uncritically and unquestionably to the point where all are a probable enemy of the Party, even one’s own parents.
Memory hole – tube which leads to an incinerator in which Winston deposits contradicting evidence of the Party to fulfill their propaganda interests.
Ministry – an important building or some sort of structure, most likely that of an institution in which is an important aspect of the Party and their daily and life-long goals and interests of power and control over all and everything.
Ministry of Love - “miniluv” is identifies, monitors, arrests, and converts real and imagined opponents of the Party and probable rebels, who are ultimately beaten and tortured, then, when broken down, sent to Room 101 to face their worst fear until love for Big Brother and the Party replaces any trace of disagreement. Goal is to teach and instill affection and loyalty for Big Brother by means of brainwashing and torture by ultimately playing on the exploits, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities of the people.
Ministry of Peace - “minipax” is responsible for conducting Oceania’s wars and reports Oceania's forever on-going war. The goal of modern warfare is to use up the products of the machine without raising the general standard of living so the people remain at meager supplies of anything like food or general supplies.
Ministry of Plenty - “miniplenty” controls Oceania’s economy has command over the inflow of food and goods. Basically, rations and controls food, goods, and domestic production and every fiscal quarter it publishes false claims of having raised the standard of living, when it has actually reduced rations, availability, and production.
Ministry of Truth – “minitrue” controls information on anything of or related to: recreation, news, entertainment, and education. Winston Smith works here in the Records Department, "rectifying" historical documents and records to add up with Big Brother's current pronouncements, making sure everything the Party says is true. Just as ironic as all of the ministries, the Ministry of Truth works in part with Oceania’s related news and media sectors to lie to the people. Main functions are to contort facts and alter and revise history, which supports the Party.
Newspeak – official language spoken in Oceania devised to meet ideological needs of Ingsoc by deleting words, creating and replacing words with new meanings. Politically correct speech taken to the maximum extent of the meaning devised in order to remove any trace of individual thought process or questioning and ultimately narrow the range of thought.
Outer Party – makes up about thirteen percent of Oceania’s population and filled with administrative workers like Winston who implement Party policies.
Outer Party Member – has no voice and are subject to extreme oppression in their daily lives and routine under Big Brother’s rule of Oceania. An artificial middle class person of Oceania given only the power to drink Victory Gin and cigarettes and abide by Party rules. Constantly spied upon and under surveillance at all times who are most likely to incite rebellion upon upper classes of ruling.
Proles – make up about eighty-five percent or more of Oceania’s population. Are seen as the lowest of the low yet they have a sense of responsibility to other proles at a low form and still have a sense of meaning beyond that of the classes above them (Inner and Outer Party members). They are manual laborers and poorest of Oceania, yet not constantly watched and also allowed more vices than Outer Party members such as porn, gambling, alcohol. They are considered harmless because they are not educated.
Reality control – another term Winston uses for doublethink.
Revisionism – changing and re-writing history to suit the Party’s needs and in order to make it seem as if they are always right ahead of time, even so people of Oceania do not question anything.
Sexcrime – having sex for pleasure or enjoyment or to willingly create family of your own. Sex is only acceptable when performed to produce offspring for The Party. (ie: a minimum of five years of forced labor camp was bestowed upon any for being caught with a prostitute)
Slogans – sayings that convey populist messages. (ie: "War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength," "Who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past," and "Big Brother is Watching You.")
Telescreen – two-way television screens located everywhere, in all Party members homes.
The Golden Country – where Julia and Winston first met out of the workplace and had sex; in the forest practically so that they would be away from seeing eyes and telescreens.
Thoughtcrime – illegal thoughts; individual thoughts not aligning with Party interests or what they want you to think and definitely questioning the Party’s reasoning, structure, practically, unavoidable to anyone at some point in their miserable life in Oceania, pretty much, death if taking place in Oceania.
Thought Police – organization that monitors citizens and enforces Party rules, usually unable to be picked out sort of undercover.
Two Minutes of Hate – daily required activity of all Party members to deflect anger and resentment which they have toward the government onto any given target such as Emmanuel Goldstein, Eurasian and Eastasian soldiers, or the “enemies” through video clips and film.
Unorthodoxy – not thinking not needing to think unconsciousness
Unperson – person erased from existence and history by the government for breaking laws.