One of the articles assigned to Winston must be entirely re–written. He enjoys this type of work the most, but he knows he is not the only one assigned to do it: "So tricky a piece of work would never be entrusted to a single person: on the other hand, to turn it over to a committee would be to admit openly that an act of fabrication was taking place."

What does"fabrication"mean?

In Winston's mind the smell of perfume was "inextricably mixed up" with his experience with the prostitute, because women in the Party never wore perfume. What does "inextricable"mean?

What is the main idea of this chapter?

What percentage of Oceania's population is made up of proles (people not belonging to the Party)?

Once Winston had witnessed a mob of women proles gathered around the market stall of a vendor selling saucepans. Some "…clamoured round the stall, accusing the stall–keeper of favouritism and of having more saucepans somewhere in reserve."

What does"reserve"mean?

Winston reflects, "The Party claimed, of course, to have liberated the proles from bondage."

What does"liberated"mean?

Winston has borrowed a children's history book from Mrs. Parsons. Reading it, he thinks, "It might very well be that literally every word in the history books, even the things that one accepted without question, was pure fantasy."

What does"literally"mean?

Winston "wondered, as he had many times wondered before, whether he himself was a lunatic. Perhaps a lunatic was simply a minority of one."

What does"minority"mean?

At the end of this chapter, Winston feels his courage rise. He understands, at last, for whom he is writing the diary. Who is that?

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

Julia does not agree with Winston's view of their situation. "She always contradicted him …and would not accept it as a law of nature that the individual is always defeated."

What does"contradicted"mean?

Winston's physical, emotional and psychological health has improved since he and Julia began meeting in the secret room: "The process of life had ceased to be intolerable, he had no longer any impulse to make faces at the telescreen or shout curses at the top of his voice."

What does"intolerable"mean?

What is the main idea of this chapter?

When O'Brien approaches Winston in the hallway, he makes the observation that Winston seems to "… take a scholarly interest in Newspeak . . ."

What does"scholarly"mean?

When O'Brien makes a reference to Syme, whom Winston knows is dead, Winston understands that O'Brien is sending him a signal, and that now he is O'Brien's accomplice, because "Any identifiable reference to [Syme] would have been mortally dangerous."

What does"mortally"mean?

Describing the features of the most recent Newspeak dictionary, O'Brien says, :The reduction in the number of verbs —— that is the point that will appeal to you, I think."

What does"reduction"mean?

After the meeting with O'Brien, Winston understands that "There was only one meaning that the episode could possibly have. It had been contrived as a way of letting Winston know O'Brien's address."

What does"episode"mean?

After O'Brien gives Winston his address and walks away, what does Winston expect to happen next?

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

Another prisoner is led into the white–tiled room. It is apparent that he is being starved to death: "Because of its thinness the mouth and eyes looked disproportionately large, and the eyes seemed filled with a murderous, unappeasable hatred of somebody or something."

What does"disproportionately"mean?

O'Brien can read Winston's mind. He knows that Winston has been struggling with one basic question, even before his arrest: "You could grasp the mechanics of the Society you lived in, but not its underlying motives."

What does"mechanics"mean?