1984: O'brien

Orwell's novel 1984 contains many masterfully woven characters who all play integral roles in the story. O'Brien is probably Orwell's most complex and puzzeling character, and he makes the novel more interesting and meaningful. "O'Brien is both [Winston's] destroyer and his savior"; he reaches out to Winston and almost befriends him, only to torture and brainwash him in the end. It is puzzeling however, that Winston's respect for O'Brien never seems to waver, even in spite …

…He seems to exhibit an intense intelligence that contrasts that of other party members. He appreciates Winston's revolt in an odd sense, somehting like a teacher impressed with a clever insult from one of her students. He thinks, and does not just repeat Party slogans, which elicits an almost perverse respect from his readers. The ingenuity of the Party is appreciated through O'Brien, and he completes the picture of life in Oceania that Winston cannot.