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Character Sketches 1984 

Character Sketches 1984 . O’Brien. Physical appearance. “O’Brien was a large, burly man with a thick neck and a coarse, humorous, brutal face.” “Prizefighter’s physique”

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Character Sketches 1984 

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  1. Character Sketches 1984  O’Brien

  2. Physical appearance • “O’Brien was a large, burly man with a thick neck and a coarse, humorous, brutal face.” • “Prizefighter’s physique” • “…heavy face was flushed. He was sitting very straight in his chair, his powerful chest swelling and quivering as though he were standing up to the assault of a wave.”

  3. Personality traits • Mysterious – we don’t even know his first name! • Contradicting • Sadistic • Eloquent • Condescending

  4. First mention in the novel • “The other person was a man named O’Brien, a member of the Inner Party and holder of some post so important and remote that Winston had only a dim idea of its nature. “ • Winston’s attitude to him: “He felt deeply drawn to him, and not solely because he was intrigued by the contrast between O’Brien’s urbane manner and his prizefighter’s physique.”

  5. Key scene in the novel • When Winston, Julia and O’Brien meet to discuss how to take down the Party and O’Brien gives Winston a book called “The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism by Emmanuel Goldstein” • When O’Brien is torturing Winston to “cure” him of his “insanity”

  6. Last appearance in novel • Last appearance: Torturing Winston • Last mention – “He [Winston] was light-years distant, but O’Brien was still standing at his side.”

  7. Setting • Room 101 at the concentration camp • Mr. Charrington’s shop

  8. Major themes through characters • Reduction of thought, (particularly THOUGHTCRIME) • Vision • Semi-vision: “a trick of re-settling his spectacles on his nose which was curiously disarming – in some indefinable way, curiously civilized” • Reference to the spectacles

  9. Quotations “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.” • Personification of totalitarian state, very violent. O’Brien is very eloquent so it is ironic when he says this because he negates the violence – makes it sound less horrible than it is.

  10. “You are a difficult case. But don’t give up hope. Everyone is cured sooner or later. In the end we shall shoot you” • Saying “don’t give up hope” makes it appear as though Winston is hopeful about being shot – IRONY • “Cured” – medical/pretentious diction – scientific impartiality • “In the end we shall shoot you” directly after “cured” implies that being shot is the only definite way to be cured.

  11. “God is Power” • The closest thing to a God is Big Brother, and therefore believing in Big Brother means a higher level of power gained. • The word Power is capitalized – sounds like a slogan • Paradox • There is no God in this society – Big Brother is deified • The Party wants power over the people. • Self-elevation/Application to modern society • Does Big Brother exist?

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