Early in
the novel,is developed primarily as the subject of 's fantasies. Despite only having seen the
man a few times, Winston imagines that O'Brien, a Inner Party official, is in reality a Party
discontent like him:
He felt deeply drawn to him...because
of a secretly held beliefor perhaps not even a belief, merely a hopethat OBriens political
orthodoxy was not perfect.
This conviction only increases
over time, and O'Brien eventually approaches him, leading him to believe that he is, in fact, a
Party dissident. Winston andgo to his home, where they confess their heretical thoughts, and
throw themselves on his mercy while asking if the rumors about the Brotherhood are true. O'Brien
engages in what turns out to be an extended act of deception, convincing Winston that he is to
be made part of the resistance. He even drinks to the health of the Party's bugaboo Emmanuel
Goldstein:
I think it is fitting that we should begin by
drinking a health. To our Leader: To Emmanuel Goldstein.
This quote, in retrospect, reveals the extent of O'Brien's duplicity and ruthlessness.
Later, when Winston is arrested and brought in for torture (by O'Brien himself) we see another
quote that reveals the true nature of the Party and of O'Brien. After several lengthy torture
sessions in which O'Brien reveals the true nature of the Party and of Big Brother, he offers a
chilling vision of the future:
There will be no curiosity,
no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But alwaysdo not
forget this, Winstonalways there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and
constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the
sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine
a boot stamping on a human facefor ever.
This passage
succinctly characterizes O'Brien. Like the Inner Party that he represents, he wields power for
its own ends. He is highly attuned to the processes by which memory is manipulated, created, and
destroyed. He is ruthless, cruel, and totally bereft of any sense of humanity. He embodies the
frightening methods and logic of totalitarianism.
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