Ignorance is Strength

George Orwell has successfully sparked my interest.
The beginning of 1984 is full of setting and character development...
So far, three characters have been introduced that show potential for becoming major characters:
The obvious being, Winston Smith.  The story follows Winston, as he is the protagonist.  Winston lives in a totalitarian society that monitors his every move and thought.  There are devices in his home that constantly record his movement and voice while simultaneously spitting out propaganda. There are also Thought Police, that can monitor what one is thinking.  Despite the punishment for such actions, Winston shows acts of rebellion...After illegally obtaining a blank journal and pen (such objects are banned in this society, of course,) Winston works up the courage to write.  His writing is spontaneous and arbitrary.  He allows his hand to just write and the outcome? DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER (20.) Through his characterization and interactions with other characters, Winston shows a power of resistance.  I predict Winston will struggle between rebelling and conforming.
The second character introduced is a "bold looking girl"(11.) Her character is not fully developed, but Winston's description of her denotes strong emotions.  Whether they are emotions of lust or hatred is hard to tell.  Nonetheless, the woman upholds some sort of power... "Still, he continued to feel a peculiar uneasiness, which had fear mixed in it as well as hostility, whenever she was anywhere near him." (12.)
Lastly, there is O'Brien.  O'Brien is as a highly ranked government official, but Winston feels some sort of connection with him, "[Winston] was intrigued by the contrast between O'Brien's urbane manner and his prizefighter's physique." (13.)  I believe there is potential in O'Brien's character to share Winston's rebellious actions, but it is too early to tell for sure.

On a different note...
My favorite part of the beginning of 1984 is the following...
"WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" (Orwell, 6)
Right off the back, I was immersed into a totalitarian society that was frightening to say the least: Oceania. Frightening because of the many parallels between Oceania, and governments that exist today.  After only 20 pages I have made connections to many different current cultures and religious groups.  For example, the character, Goldstein, is the enemy of Oceania because he believes in freedom of speech, press, assembly, and thought.  Freedoms that countries like China and North Korea lack.
What I like so much about the motto of Oceania is the irony and bluntness of it.   Yes, the idea of the motto being true is awful. And it mocks the very principles that America is built on.  But...is it really that far from the truth? I can already see Orwell's repeated use of juxtaposition, irony, and contrasting ideas.
Even though I have only read a small amount of 1984, my mind is already feeding off of Orwell's social commentary.  I look forward to continuing this book.