Mr Charrington is he apart of the thought police?

[Lasher]

I don't understand when he was first introduced Mr Charrington seemed to be a friend or ally to Winston but when Winston and Julia were caught he seemed to be apart of the thought police. Was Winston and Julia tricked so easily or was this man who appeared with the thought police a "fake" Charrington to set up the telescreen and set the clock? This thought police Charrington even appeared to be younger than the first time we saw him at the end of part 1. Is Mr Charrington a thought police or was this just merge a fake?

[ReachfortheSky]

Mr. Charrington pretended to be an ally or friend to Winston and Julia because he was a part of the Thought Police and it was his job to try and catch thought criminals. So he allowed them to rent out his room above his shop as a way to ensure their trust and make them believe that he truly was just a meager prole trying to earn a few extra dollars. But in reality he was trying to catch them breaking laws that were meant to be enforced. He convinced Winston that his room was extremely safe and private without a telescreen because he was a "prole". So Winston but his trust in him and when Mr. Charrington got all the evidence he needed he brought in the Thought Police to capture them and take them to the Ministry of Love to be put through extreme torture. Mr. Charrington appears to be younger because in the novel it states that the government would often perform plastic surgery to modify or completely change their look. That's why Winston barely recognized it to be Mr. Charrington. Mr. Charrington was a Thought Police not a fake.

[SolvableParadox]

Mr. Charrington pretended to be an ally or friend to Winston and Julia because he was a part of the Thought Police and it was his job to try and catch thought criminals. So he allowed them to rent out his room above his shop as a way to ensure their trust and make them believe that he truly was just a meager prole trying to earn a few extra dollars. But in reality he was trying to catch them breaking laws that were meant to be enforced. He convinced Winston that his room was extremely safe and private without a telescreen because he was a "prole". So Winston but his trust in him and when Mr. Charrington got all the evidence he needed he brought in the Thought Police to capture them and take them to the Ministry of Love to be put through extreme torture. Mr. Charrington appears to be younger because in the novel it states that the government would often perform plastic surgery to modify or completely change their look. That's why Winston barely recognized it to be Mr. Charrington. Mr. Charrington was a Thought Police not a fake.

This part of the novel had confused me a lot. I have been wondering why Orwell wouldn't have had Winston arrested far earlier when he had bought the room. This would've saved the party time and resources, after all who is Winston? I had it marked up as a large plot hole. Then it hit me; Orwell did this to prove a point. By having the party exert all of this effort just to catch Winston and Julia it illustrates the hopelessness of the situation.