1984
by George Orwell
Table of Contents
Part 2: Chapter 4 to Chapter 6
Chapter 4
It is often difficult for Winston and Julia to find time together and a safe place to meet. One factor is the flurry of activity leading up to Hate Week—though a month away, it requires additional work from everyone. Finally Winston decides to rent the room above Mr. Charrington’s shop. They both know it is a tremendous risk, but are willing to take it.
Winston is early for their first date in the apartment, and when Julia finally arrives, she has smuggled into her work bag a stash of delectables she somehow acquired on the black market: real coffee and sugar, bread, and jam. Before she and Winston undress to make love, Julia puts on makeup and perfume; in a society that insists on women being sexless “comrades,” this is both a risky indulgence and an act of rebellion.
Toward the end of their afternoon together, Julia spots a rat, which prompts Winston to recall a vaguely remembered but disturbing nightmare. Julia, who seems to be handy with tools, promises to plug the rat hole on their next visit. As they prepare to leave, Winston begins singing an old ditty Mr. Charrington taught him, and is surprised when Julia joins in; it turns out that she learned the song from her grandfather before he disappeared, presumably in one of the purges.
Chapter 5
As Winston had suspected, one day Syme (his colleague who specialized in Newspeak and seemed to lack a necessary discretion) stops showing up at work. When his name is struck from the list of the Chess Committee, Winston is sure that Syme has been eliminated. The weather is hot, but the city is in a frenzy of preparation for Hate Week. Parsons in particular is elated with all the communal activity. Adding to the tension is an increase in the number of rocket bombs, prompting new demonstrations against Goldstein, the Eurasians, and other presumed enemies of the state. Posters of a fierce-looking Eurasian soldier have been plastered over the city and outnumber those of Big Brother. Even the proles,...
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