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Nineteen Eighty-Four ChapterSummaries
PART ONE
Chapter 1
Winston begins to keep a diary detailing his life. (Something which althoughnot illegal could lead to his imprisonment or death.) He recounts his dayat workincluding the two minutes hate during which O'Brien gave him a conspiratoriallook which Winston interprets as a gesture of solidarity between them. Healso meets Juliawhom he dislikes because she appears to be such an orthodoxmember of the party.
Chapter 2
A Neighbour knocks on Winston's door and interrupts his Diary writingto ask him to help unblock her kitchen sink. Whilstthere he meets her childrenwho belong to the party youth group,the spies. They have been trained bythe party to inform on those who are different. Winston perceives them asthreatening, and he notices that even their mother appears frightened ofthem.
Chapter 3
Winston dreams about his mother and about Julia. He wakes up and doeshis regulation exercises, whilst doing these he tries to remember what lifeused to be like before the party. He also remembers the one time in hislife when he had proof that the party was lying about the past.
Chapter 4
Winston goes to work and changes several news reports.
Chapter 5
Winston sits and has lunch with Syme, a philologist who helps to developnewspeak, they discuss his work. Winston begins to think that Julia is spyingon him to denounce him to the thought police.
Chapter 6
Winston remembers his unsuccessful marriage to Katherine, a very orthodoxparty member, and also his illegal visits to prostitutesafter they splitup. (The party discourages sex generally.)
Chapter 7
Winston, writing his diary speculates on the possibility of the proles,or working classes revolting and changing society. They are the only hopefor change that Winston can see, because the party just ignores their existence.He thinks again about the way in which the past is constantly rearranged,so that you can no longer know what is true and what is not. He remembersthe photograph he once saw which proved the party had lied and that he wasnot insane.
Chapter 8
Winston goes for a walk into the prole area of town.There is an air raidand Winston sees a detatched hand lying in the road. He kicks it. He thengoes to a pub to try and question some proles about what the past was reallylike. However, their answers do not satisfy him and he leaves. On his wayback, he passes the old junk shop where he bought his diary and pen. Hetalks to the shop owner and buys a coral paperweight. The shopkeeper showshim the empty room above the shop,and Winston considers renting it, beforedeciding it would be impractical. When leaving the shop he sees the girl,Julia again andrealises that she has been following him. In panic he dasheshome and wories about what will happen if she reports him.