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Part II Chapter 4

What is the main idea of this chapter?

While Winston waits for Julia to meet him in the rented room, he listens to a woman outside the window singing. He knows that "…the words of these songs were composed without any human intervention whatever on an instrument known as a versificator," but the woman makes it sound much better than it really is. What does "intervention"mean?

Julia brings real coffee, which is extremely rare: "…one did occasionally meet with [the smell] even now … diffusing itself mysteriously in a crowded street, sniffed for an instant and then lost again."

What does"diffusing"mean?

Winston is impressed by the way the woman in the courtyard sings: "It struck him as a curious fact that he had never heard a member of the Party singing alone and spontaneously."

What does"spontaneously"mean?

Julia sees a rat and "For several moments [Winston] had had the feeling of being back in a nightmare which had recurred from time to time throughout his life."

What does"recurred"mean?

Winston finds the antique paperweight inexhaustibly interesting: "It was as though the surface of the glass had been the arch of the sky, enclosing a tiny world with its atmosphere complete."

What does"atmosphere"mean?

Were there any words that you did not know?
You can always list them here.