What is the deeper meaning behind O'Brian and Winston's eye-contact

For our 10th grade English class, we are reading "1984" as a class assignment. we have not finished the book, but O'Brian's character seemed to pop out at me. Orwell had written a scene where Winston had made swift eye contact with O'Brian. This seemed significant in my opinion because, afterwards Winston had seemed very anxious to know know if O'Brian shared the same views on the government. I almost want to say that Winston was so scared of being cough, he held on to the smallest sliver of hope, the hope that maybe he was not alone. The problem is, Winston could not ask O'Brian, for obvious reasons. My question is, was there a deeper meaning behind this short scene of eye-contact? i would like to hear other people's opinions.

Personally, I believe that the eye contact between O'Brian and Winston represents that there may be other people with the same mindset as Winston himself has. With no doubt this can represent a sense of hope for Winston rather than him feeling alone in his thoughts. There is a contrast between what is happening and what could be happening. The slight eye contact may also push Winston to wonder and uncover more about the whole governmental system and what is actually going on. With the thought that O'Brian and Winston are alike it may also bring upon the thought that there could be hundreds more similar to them and in return can push them to want to know the actual truth rather than being brain- washed and ignorant like the whole rest of the civilization.

I saw the interaction between O’Brien and Winston as Winston desperately hoping to not be alone in his defiant mind set. That O’Brien may not necessarily share Winston’s dissatisfaction with their society but he unknowingly gave Winston a motivation to retain the hope and belief that there are others just like him and that he, in that world was not as alone as he feared. I think Orwell wanted to highlight the issues of loneliness and hope and to what extent they can push you to reach for things that aren’t necessarily there but you want to be more than anything. We see that in the scene between Winston and O’Brien and in the dream Winston has following that.

Although the eye contact that is exchanged between Winston and O’Brien is a very small gesture, I feel that it lays down one of the largest overall themes of the novel. Winston is clinging to something that is so tiny, it’s possible that he is just imagining it. I believe that this idea in the novel is showing how people will take hold of anything that they can, and sometimes make it into something more than it was meant to be in order to give them hope.