Character Archetypes Within O'Brien from George Orwell's "1984"

WARNING: HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

"The old civilizations claimed that they were founded on love or justice. Ours is founded upon hatred. In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. Everything else we shall destroy - everything."

-George Orwell, 1984 279 (Speaker is O'Brien)

O'Brien is a Party member (see previous posts on 1984). He emerges as the Herald, announcing the Call to Adventure to Winston, the Hero. He does this by revealing his membership in the Brotherhood, a resistance movement. He becomes Winston's Mentor in the ways of the Brotherhood:

"The Brotherhood cannot be wiped out because it is not an organization in the ordinary sense. Nothing holds it together except an idea which is indestructible. You will never have anything to sustain you, except the idea. You will get no comradeship and no encouragement."

-George Orwell, 1984 179 (Speaker is O'Brien)

Then, O'Brien equips Winston with a book containing Party secrets.

After, O'Brien radically transforms. While imprisoned by the Thought Police, Winston finds O'Brien in jail as well, but on the other side of the bars.

"'They've [the Party] got you too!,' [Winston] cried.
"'They got me a long time ago,' said O'Brien with a mild, almost regretful irony."

-George Orwell 1984 250-251

O'Brien evolves into the Shadow, torturing Winston to change into a faithful Party member. Winston resists, saying that the Party's vision is impossible.

"'I don't know -- I don't care. Somehow you will fail. Something will defeat you. Life will defeat you.'

"'We control life, Winston, at all its levels. You are imagining that there is something called human nature which will be outraged by what we do and will turn against us. But we create human nature. Men are infinitely malleable. Or perhaps you have returned to your old idea that the proletarians or the slaves will arise and overthrow us. Put it out of your mind. They are helpless, like the animals. Humanity is the Party. The others are outside -- irrelevant.'"

-George Orwell, 1984 282

The fight between the Hero and Shadow has only one victor, and O'Brien finally breaks Winston.

O'Brien's constant redefining makes him a Shapeshifter. He starts out a pleasant member of the Inner Party, then a rebel, and finally a symbol of pure evil, and Winston's ultimate opponent.