Winston is the main character of 1984, with Julia coming in later in the story. Winston and Julia are interesting characters, because - unlike the protagonist you usually see in books in movies - they don’t agree with the government but they never physically fight against it. However, they often break the smaller laws and constantly commit what is known as thoughtcrime in their society.
Winston is probably one of the favorite characters I’ve ever read about because he’s not perfect. He can do wrong, and he does do wrong. He is scared, so he does not act, staying in the shadows as much as possible. The inevitability of the Ministry of Truth catching him looms in his future, and he knows he is going to be vaporized someday, but until that day comes, he will avoid it as much as possible.
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“We are the dead” (Orwell, pg 106). When Winston first says this, he explains to Julia how they are the dead- not physically, but conceivably. He has come to accept this fact, and it shows how his character has matured enough to think about it seriously. “Obviously we shall put it off as long as we can. But it makes very little difference. So long as human beings stay human, death and life are the same thing” (Orwell, pg 106).
Winston is also not one to take things for granted.
However thoughtful and quiet Winston seems to be, though, Julia is different. At first glance (and many after that), Julia is a true Big Brother and Party supporter. She is part of each and every group a young woman such as her can be in, and Winston, at first, is afraid of her. She is quite bold and gave off the vibes of a dangerous person to Winston not just because she appears to be not just a minion of the Party, but a clever one. “This particular girl gave him the impression of being more dangerous than most. Once when they passed in the corridor she had given him a quick sidelong glance which seemed to pierce right into him and for a moment had filled him with black terror” (Orwell, pg 235).
Once he gets to know her, Winston realizes that she is clever, in a way. She doesn’t buy into the war, thinking that the Party simply drops bombs on the people to scare them into submission. But when it comes to things that don’t directly cross over into her life, she is oblivious and content to stay that way.
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