Winston Smith is a minor member of the future ruling party in London. Smith is a young man who is both contemplative and intelligent, despite appearing frail and thin. Smith loathes the totalitarian and repressive regime that he lives in. He feels that a man needs to be free in society and it is unacceptable for the government to trample upon the rights of the people. As a result, Smith harbors revolutionary thoughts and a desire to end this unacceptable practice of totalitarian rule.

Julia is Winston Smith's love interest and main co-conspirator. Julia works for the Fiction Department in the Ministry of Truth. More rebellious than Winston Smith, they share many of the same wishes although their ideologies are not identical. While Smith seeks to set the people free from Totalitarian rule, Julia seeks to use rebellion as an avenue towards personal enjoyment and hedonism. She enjoys sexual relationships more than Wilson, using this, in addition to her natural cunning to mount her own personal rebellion.

O'Brien is a member of the Inner Party. Winston Smith sees him as an incredibly powerful political figure, who has control over many proceedings at the party. There is also a belief that he is a member of the Brotherhood, an organization that houses individuals who have rebelled against the party.

Although he never appears in the novel, and despite not truly existing, the figure of Big Brother looms large in the sight of Winston Smith. Big Brother is presumed to be the leader of Oceania, an incredibly important figure. Wherever he turns, Winston Smith sees the posters of the totalitarian figure with the caption, "Big Brother is watching'. Part of the very fabric of society, his image is stamped on coins, broadcast on the ceaseless telescreens, and people cannot avoid them at all.  Winston Smith hates what he sees and feels powerless compared to the omnipresence of Big Brother.

He is an elderly business person who runs a secondhand store in the Prole district. Mr. Charrington shares the vision of Winston Smith about the past. His kindness and encouragement of Winston are invaluable as he also shares the idea of rebellion. The support he provides to Smith is so huge that he even rents him a room to run his operations. The room does not have a telescreen, and so it does not become frustrating to Winston. In addition to all of this, he supports Winston's relationship with Julia. However, Mr Carrington is not what he seems to be. He is a secret member of the Thought Police, and his actions could be a calculated ploy to get as much information as possible from Winston.

Syme is an intelligent man who works at the Ministry of Truth with Winston. He specializes in languages and is writing a new edition of the Newspeak dictionary. As the book unfolds, it appears to Winston that Syme is too intelligent to be accepted by the party. His stay, whichever way, may soon come to an end.

Parsons is a dull and uninteresting Party member who lives near Winston. Parson's wife is equally dull and lacking personality. The couple have children who are as suspicious and paranoid as their parents working as junior spies for the party. In all they do, the family is suspicious and does not interact much with their neighbors.

Emmanuel Goldstein is another powerful figure, although he does not make an appearance in the novel. Through the party’s eyes, Emmanuel is presented as the legendary leader of the Brotherhood, an incredibly important organization that resists the regime. From the narration, it appears that Emmanuel was a powerful figure in the party before he fell out with the leadership and went to the Brotherhood. He is regarded as the most dangerous figure in the entirety of Oceania.