Vocabulary
contrived
showing effects of planning or manipulation
Who is Winston Smith
Winston Smith, a frail, 39-year-old Outer Party member.
The chapter starts off how?
His neighbor, Mrs. Parsons, asks for help unclogging her sink.
What happened to Winstons mom?
Winston wakes from a dream about his mother, who was vaporized after his father disappeared.
He remembers her sacrifice for him and mourns the loss of privacy, love, and deep emotions in the present world.
His mother represents the old world, where family bonds held meaning.
What does Winston do at work?
At work, Winston "rectifies" news articles to match the Party's ever-changing version of history.
furtive
marked by quiet and caution and secrecy
What is a telescreen
The telescreen, an ever-present monitoring device, cannot be turned off.
What to the children act like?
Her children, dressed in Spies uniforms, aggressively accuse Winston of thoughtcrime and beg to see a public execution.
What happened in Winstons dream
In his dream, Winston finds himself in the "Golden Country," an idyllic countryside.
A dark-haired girl approaches, removing her clothes in a carefree manner that impresses him.
He wakes with the word "Shakespeare" on his lips as the telescreen's alarm blares.
Where do instructions arrive?
Instructions arrive via pneumatic tubes, and old records are destroyed in "memory holes."
nebulous
lacking definite form or limits
Where does Winston live?
Winston lives in Airstrip One (formerly London), part of the totalitarian superstate Oceania.
What is Winstons dream?
Back in his flat, Winston recalls a dream where a voice, which he identifies as O'Brien’s, told him, "We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness."
What does the party do?
The Party constantly rewrites history, making it impossible to track past events.
Who is Tillotson and Ampleforth?
Winstons colleagues: Tillotson, who works in secrecy; a woman erasing vaporized individuals; and Ampleforth, a poet modifying literature to align with Party doctrine.
inscrutable
difficult or impossible to understand
What did he leave work early to do?
He has left work early to write in a diary, an act of defiance under Party rule.
What does the spy organization mirror?
The Spies organization mirrors real-life fascist youth movements, fostering loyalty to the Party over family.
What is the party's most terrifying power?
He identifies the Party’s most terrifying power: controlling the past by manipulating both media and citizens’ minds.
What does the Party ensure?
The Party ensures the proles remain unaware of their oppression, much like historical strategies used to suppress lower classes.
gambol
light-hearted recreational activity for amusement
What are the slogans brought up?
The slogans "WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" epitomize the Party’s manipulation of truth. → Propaganda
What does Winston recognize
Winston recognizes the Party’s control over truth, as citizens accept contradictory facts through doublethink.
What does Winston remember doing as a child?
He remembers hiding in a Tube station as a child during an air raid, overhearing a drunken old man lamenting misplaced trust in the Party.
Who is comrade Ogilvy?
Winston rewrites history by erasing a vaporized Party member, Comrade Withers, and inventing a replacement, Comrade Ogilvy.
Ogilvy is a model Party loyalist who hunts thought-criminals.