O'Brien Probably the most interesting thing about O'Brien is that we have only Winston's opinion of him. This burly but sophisticated leader of the Inner Party is supposed to be the head of the secret Brotherhood dedicated to the overthrow of Big Brother. In his black overall, he haunts both Winston's dreams and his waking moments to the very end of the novel. Another very interesting thing about O'Brien is that the reader doesn't precisely know if he is a friend or an enemy of Winston. Yet even Winston himself doesn't know it . I would say that O'Brien, the powerful and mighty Party member, is a kind of father for Winston. Before Winston's capture, O'Brien "helps" Winston to make contact with the Brotherhood, and he teaches him about the Ideology and the rules of this secret Organisation. After the capture O'Brien gives Winston the feeling, that he is somehow protecting him. The relation between O'Brien and Winston has all attributes of a typical relation between a father and a child: The father is all-knowing, all-mighty; he teaches, punishes and educates his child, and he is protecting it, from anything that could harm the child. But I think that O'Brien is only playing his role, due to reintegrate Winston.

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1984