he is alone. His loneliness makes him long for someone or something that can restore his sanity. This is where the character O’Brien coincides. Winston had bought a journal, and he began thinking about different things he could write about. He started to daydream about a weekly event called the Two Minutes Hate. This is when the party whips their people into a frenzy by using John Goldstein as a scapegoat. In the midst of all the chaos, Winston remembers that he made eye contact with O’Brien for a split second “and for as long as it took to happen Winston knew--yes, he knew!--that O’Brien was thinking the same thing as himself” (Orwell 17). Winston is trying to find hope in the littlest of things. He makes eye contact with a man for a fraction of a second and suddenly he knows everything O’Brien is thinking about. This just isn’t realistic. Winston is going to the very depths of his imagination in order to create any sort of hope. His loneliness makes him question his sanity and he is willing to believe anything in order to not feel insane. The reader can sympathize with Winston because many people hold onto ...