What is the main idea of this chapter?

Winston is tasked with handling "…articles or news items which for one reason or another it was thought necessary to alter, or, as the official phrase had it, to rectify."

What does"rectify"mean?

When Winston finishes rectifying each message, he feeds "…them into the memory hole to be devoured by the flames."

What does"devoured"mean?

Not everyone in the Records Department does the same work as Winston. For example, a man nearby is " …engaged in producing garbled versions …of poems which had become ideologically offensive . . ."

What does"ideologically"mean?

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 response to his most challenging task of the day, Winston invents a fictional hero for Big Brother to praise. He stops short of awarding " . . .Comrade Ogilvy the Order of Conspicuous Merit: in the end he decided against it because of the unnecessary cross–referencing that it would entail."

What does"entail"mean?

The messages that Winston receives to work on use many words of "Newspeak", which is the language of the Party. What is the Party's name for standard English?

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

What is the main idea of this chapter?

While eating lunch in the canteen, Winston is approached by a man named Syme. What project is Syme working on?

Please enter the first three words of a sentence that shows your answers is correct.

Syme is reducing the number of words in the Newspeak dictionary. For example, he does not see any justification for opposites and synonyms. He thinks "Ungood" and "Plusgood" are better than "bad" or "excellent" because they are less vague. What does "justification"mean?

While Winston is in the canteen, an announcement comes over the telescreen. The announcement describes "…spontaneous demonstrations when workers marched out of factories and offices and paraded through the streets . . ."

What does"spontaneous"mean?

Winston worries that the girl with the dark hair is a member of the Thought Police and becomes uneasy when he notices that she is watching him: "She was looking at him in a sidelong way, but with curious intensity."

What does"intensity"mean?

Winston's neighbor, Parsons, is also in the canteen. He tells Winston stories about his children, of whom he is proud. He calls them, "Keen as mustard."

What does"keen"mean?

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

What do you think will happen in the next chapter?
(This is just a spot for you to jot some notes for yourself.)

What is the main idea of this chapter?

While eating lunch in the canteen, Winston is approached by a man named Syme. What project is Syme working on?

Syme is reducing the number of words in the Newspeak dictionary. For example, he does not see any justification for opposites and synonyms. He thinks "Ungood" and "Plusgood" are better than "bad" or "excellent" because they are less vague. What does "justification"mean?

While Winston is in the canteen, an announcement comes over the telescreen. The announcement describes "…spontaneous demonstrations when workers marched out of factories and offices and paraded through the streets . . ."

What does"spontaneous"mean?

Winston worries that the girl with the dark hair is a member of the Thought Police and becomes uneasy when he notices that she is watching him: "She was looking at him in a sidelong way, but with curious intensity."

What does"intensity"mean?

Winston's neighbor, Parsons, is also in the canteen. He tells Winston stories about his children, of whom he is proud. He calls them, "Keen as mustard."

What does"keen"mean?

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