1984 (Signet Classics) by George Orwell

Author:George Orwell [Orwell, George]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9782070501786
Google: KiDZPAAACAAJ
Amazon: 0451524934
Publisher: Gallimard
Published: 1950-07-01T22:00:00+00:00

on:‘What I had really intended to say was that in your article

I noticed you had used two words which have become obso-

lete. But they have only become so very recently. Have you

seen the tenth edition of the Newspeak Dictionary?’

‘No,’ said Winston. ‘I didn’t think it had been issued yet.

We are still using the ninth in the Records Department.’

‘The tenth edition is not due to appear for some months,

I believe. But a few advance copies have been circulated.

I have one myself. It might interest you to look at it, per-

haps?’

‘Very much so,’ said Winston, immediately seeing where

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199

this tended.

‘Some of the new developments are most ingenious. The

reduction in the number of verbs—that is the point that will

appeal to you, I think. Let me see, shall I send a messenger

to you with the dictionary? But I am afraid I invariably for-

get anything of that kind. Perhaps you could pick it up at

my flat at some time that suited you? Wait. Let me give you

my address.’

They were standing in front of a telescreen. Somewhat

absentmindedly O’Brien felt two of his pockets and then

produced a small leather-covered notebook and a gold

ink-pencil. Immediately beneath the telescreen, in such a

position that anyone who was watching at the other end of

the instrument could read what he was writing, he scribbled

an address, tore out the page and handed it to Winston.

‘I am usually at home in the evenings,’ he said. ‘If not, my

servant will give you the dictionary.’

He was gone, leaving Winston holding the scrap of paper,

which this time there was no need to conceal. Nevertheless

he carefully memorized what was written on it, and some

hours later dropped it into the memory hole along with a

mass of other papers.

They had been talking to one another for a couple of

minutes at the most. 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. This was neces-

sary, because except by direct enquiry it was never possible

to discover where anyone lived. There were no directories

of any kind. ‘If you ever want to see me, this is where I can

00

1984

be found,’ was what O’Brien had been saying to him. Per-

haps there would even be a message concealed somewhere

in the dictionary. But at any rate, one thing was certain. The

conspiracy that he had dreamed of did exist, and he had

reached the outer edges of it.

He knew that sooner or later he would obey O’Brien’s

summons. Perhaps tomorrow, perhaps after a long de-

lay—he was not certain. What was happening was only the

working-out of a process that had started years ago. The

first step had been a secret, involuntary thought, the sec-

ond had been the opening of the diary. He had moved from

thoughts to words, and now from words to actions. The last

step was something that would happen in the Ministry of

Love. He had accepted it. The end was contained in the be-

ginning. But it was frightening: or, more exactly, it was like

a foretaste of death, like being a little less alive. Even while

he

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