The characters of 1984
Winston Smith
Winston is the main character of the novel, a middle-aged man who works at the Ministry of Truth as a member of the Outer Party. His job is to revise books and articles of the past so they conform with the propaganda of Big Brother, in other words collaborating in altering the truth and the past. Apparently innocuous and obedient, Winston harbors feelings of revolt against the impositions of the Party and a society that is losing all forms of humanity.
Julia
O’Brien
She is Winston’s young lover and a colleague of his in the Ministry of Truth, where she works on the production machines of the fiction department. Julia is more pragmatic and less idealistic than Winston: she is a rebel, but her interest in the rebellion is connected more to personal freedom and pleasure than deep political motivations. She is skeptical of the possibility of overturning the Party, but always ready for small subversive acts.
High official of the Inner Party, O’Brien is initially viewed by Winston as a potential secret ally against the Party. In reality, he is a loyal supporter of the regime and one of the principal manipulators of the truth. O’Brien embodies the power of the Party, tricking Winston and Julia and leading them to their downfall. He is the person who supervises the torture of Winston in Room 101.
Big Brother
The mysterious and omnipresent leader of the Party. Even if he never physically appears in the novel, his image is everywhere, on posters and in slogans. He is the symbol of the absolute power of the regime, used to maintain the psychological control of the population. But is he actually a real person, or just a creation of the Party?
Mr. Charrington
Owner of an antiques shop, he rents a room in his house to Winston and Julia to allow them to meet secretly. Initially he seems like an innocuous and quiet old man, but he turns out to be an undercover member of the Thought Police, responsible for the capture of Winston and Julia.
Syme
A colleague of Winston who works on the drafting of the new edition of the Newspeak dictionary, the official language of the Party. It is his job to eliminate more and more words. Syme is a staunch supporter of the Party, but is too intelligent to be an ideal member of it. For this reason, he becomes an unperson.
Parsons
Emmanuel
Goldstein
Winston’s neighbor, a devoted member of the Party and passionate supporter of the regime. Despite his loyalty, he is reported to the Thought Police by his own children because of having talked against Big Brother in his sleep.
He is the presumed leader of the resistance against the Party and enemy number one of the State. Goldstein is the main character of Two Minutes Hate, but it is not clear whether he really exists or is just a fabrication of the Party to maintain a constant enemy against whom to channel the hate of the population. He is the author of the Book, which contains the doctrine of the Brotherhood.
George Orwell
Fun facts
Ten things to know about GEORGE ORWELL
As you read, find the incorrect fact or statement
1 Eric Arthur Blair is born on June 25, 1903 in India. His literary pen name will be George Orwell.
2 In 1922, he joins the Indian Imperial Police and serves for five years in Burma, where he develops strong anti-imperial feelings.
3 Back in Europe, partly due to necessity and partly for social studies, he spends several years living in conditions of poverty, both in Paris and London.
4 His experiences form the basis for his first book, Down and out in Paris and London, published in 1933
5 In 1937, he spends six months in Spain as a volunteer, participating in the Civil War against the dictator Franco. This experience will definitively form his political conscience and hate toward totalitarian regimes.
6
Since his childhood, he has suffered from tuberculosis and is forced to spend long periods resting. For this reason, he is rejected for military service during the Second World War.
7
During the war, he works for the BBC, participating in the dissemination of real militaristic propaganda.
8
In 1945, he publishes Animal Farm, his bitter satire of the Nazi regime.
9
In 1948, he completes, worn out by his disease, the last draft of 1984, which will be published the following year, achieving great success with the public.
10
He dies in 1950, killed by the illness, at 46 years of age, surrounded by his dearest friends.
Find the intruder
We are in 1984, which for Orwell was a dystopian future. Many technological elements, science fiction and otherwise, appear in the book, but do you know which of these does not appear at all?
Dystopian novels Games
In this library we have collected some of the most famous dystopian novels, some of which inspired George Orwell himself. Can you correctly connect every title with its author?
Jonathan Swift
Mary Shelley
Anthony Trollope
Anna Bowman Dodd
H.G. Wells
M.P. Shiel
Jack London
Evgenij I. Zamjatin
Aldous Huxley
Katharine Burdekin
Karin Boye
Ray Bradbury
AUTHOR
The Fixed Period
The Republic of the Future
We
Fahrenheit 451
Kallocain
Swastika Night
The Time Machine
Gulliver’s Travels
Brave New World
The Last Man
The Iron Heel
The Purple Cloud
BOOK
Dystopian word search
Identify in the following outline of letters the names of the list. They can be written in all directions, including diagonal, and can cross and overlap.
Fun facts on 1984 Games
Orwell’s masterpiece contains in its pages the political convictions that the author has accrued during his life. It is his last work, his testament. Can you tell which of these curiosities in 1984 are true or false?
T1. Orwell initially thinks of naming his book The First Man in Europe.
2. The title 1984 was chosen by inverting the last two numbers of the year when Orwell wrote the book, 1948.
3. It has been printed in more than 65 languages.
4. 1984 was published in 1952.
5. The author works on the book while he is seriously ill with tuberculosis, devoting the last months of his life to it.
6. Initially, no editor wants to publish the book because it is too controversial.
7. In the Soviet Union, the book is censored until 1988, almost 40 years after its original publication.
8. At the BBC, where Orwell works, there is a conference room named 101.
9. It is Orwell’s wife who types the book that he dictates from his sickbed.
10. Orwell’s traumatic school experience is the source of the inspiration for the book.
11. The character of Winston Smith is inspired by a history professor of Orwell’s.
12. When the book came out, it sells very few copies.
13. In 2022, Belarus bans its sale.
A world at war
The map of the world in 1984 is divided into three totalitarian superpowers: Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. Oceania includes the Americas, the British Isles, Australia, and South Africa; Eurasia covers Continental Europe and Russia; Eastasia includes China, Japan, and part of Southeast Asia.
CONTENDED RESOURCES
Rubber trees
Labor
Precious minerals
Experimental installations
NEW YORK
TANGIER
BRAZZAVILLE
LONDON
These three powers are constantly at war with each other for the control of the disputed regions such as the Middle East, North Africa and India, creating an unstable balance of power and a perpetual war.
EURASIA
EASTASIA
OCEANIA
DARWIN
HONG KONG
Orwell’s literary production is composed of novels, essays, and reviews. Below, we have collected some of his most famous works. Color those you have already read and discover those that you have not.
Down and Out in Paris and London
BURMESE DAYS
The maze
Julia explained to Winston how to reach the place of their secret meeting. Can you help him find the glade where the thrush sings?
Special surveillance Games
Helps the Ministry of Truth position the supervision screens correctly. At least one screen must be placed near every person (adjacent vertically or horizontally). There can’t be two adjacent screens (not even diagonally). The numbers indicate how many screens you can position on every row and in every column.
Games
Two Minutes Hate
The Two Minutes Hate is a daily practice used by the Party to harness the hate and frustration of the population; it is a way to vent repressed emotions. What would you think about trying it yourself? Use writing, drawings, or simple scribbles, and vent!
The forbidden paperweight
On this page there are many shattered paperweights. Can you find one like the one that Winston is holding?
“The paperweight was the room he was in, and the coral was Julia's life and his own, fixed in a sort of eternity at the heart of the crystal.”
typical day of the diligent citizen
7:15 A.M. - WAKE UP. A WHISTLE FROM THE TELESCREEN WISHES GOOD MORNING.
7:30 A.M. - GYM EXERCISES IN FRONT OF THE SCREEN. DIFFERENT PROGRAMS FOR VARIOUS AGE GROUPS AND FEEDBACK IN REAL TIME.
8:30 A.M. - ENTRANCE TO WORK AT THE MINISTRY.
11:00 A.M. - BREAK: TWO MINUTES HATE.
12:30 P.M. - LUNCH BREAK. CAFETERIA.
MENU: PINKISH-GRAY STEW, A HUNK OF BREAD, A CUBE OF CHEESE, A MUG OF MILKLESS VICTORY COFFEE, AND
ONE SACCHARINE TABLET.
2:30 P.M. - RETURN TO WORK.
7:00 P.M. - LEAVE WORK.
8:30 P.M. - COMMUNITY CENTER: GAMES, FILMS, ACTIVITIES, AND CONFERENCES. DISCUSSION GROUPS.
9:00 P.M. - CONFERENCE: INGSOC, AND CHESS.
11:00 P.M. - RETURN HOME.
11:30 - THE LIGHTS ARE TURNED OFF.
Under the spreading chestnut tree I sold you and you sold me
chestnut tree cAfe
Airstrip one
Word search
Identify among these letters the words of the following list that are drawn from Orwell’s life. They can be written in all directions, including diagonal, and can cross and overlap.
Z O N J S N O T G N I L L A W B
I Y T R I B U N E E C K N R U A
C W C N A G I W E U O H Q R Y R
Y R Y E H C A R T S N R M S E T
P E I R A H I T O M N A G U T S
R T I C V C I S A O O H V E O I
I R H L H O Y B R H L T K Q N D
A M U R E A C A T A L O N I A I
N A X I Y E R J H R Y A Q I N P
Q R L A H I N D U G C B B E Z S
I U E L B Z K B R O W N E L L A
M J Y B X W G O L L A N C Z U T
GEORGE ERIC
ARTHUR BLAIR
ETON
ASPIDISTRA
CATALONIA
JURA
MOTIHARI
CYPRIAN
WIGAN
EILEEN
BROWNELL
TRIBUNE
GOLLANCZ
CONNOLLY
WALLINGTON
BBC
RICHARD
STRACHEY
A stroll through time
GEORGE ORWELL
He starts his studies at Eton
He is born on June 25 in India
He enrolls in the Imperial Police in Burma
The Tour de France is born
In the United States, the first International Women’s Day is held
He goes to Paris to work as a writer
He works as high school teacher
Walt Disney creates the character Mickey Mouse
The political program of the Nazi Party is drafted
Pluto is discovered
He writes the book
The Road to Wigan Pier, where he describes the desperate condition of English miners
The book Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell is published
He starts working for the BBC He publishes Animal Farm
He publishes Homage to Catalonia He participates in the Spanish Civil War
He is nominated editor at the Tribune, where he writes literary reviews
In the night between November 9 and 10, Kristallnacht takes place
The Ku Klux Klan is definitively dissolved
He is diagnosed with tuberculosis He publishes 1984 He dies of tuberculosis on January 21
Polaroid sells the first camera with instantaneous film development
The Korean War breaks out
Bomb on Hiroshima
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Photographic credits
The images are of:
Getty Images
10 top right, 26 George Orwell, 28-29, 59 typewriter, 60 George Orwell, 66 Margaret Mitchell, 67 George Orwell and Polaroid, 72-73, 78
Shutterstock.com
10 bottom left, 11, 14, 18, 20, 23, 26 background, 32, 33, 35, 37, 38, 50, 51, 53, 59, 60, 62, 63, 66, 67, 75, 83, 84, 87
Concept and creation: Il Cartavolante (Elisabetta Stoinich+Pemberley Pond)
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© 2025 White Star s.r.l.
Piazzale Luigi Cadorna, 6 20123 Milan, Italy www.whitestar.it
Translation: Qontent
Editing: Phillip Gaskill
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.
ISBN 978-88-544-2135-6
1 2 3 4 5 29 28 27 26 25
Printed in Romania
