1984: Part 1, Chapter 8

He goes to talk to the prole man who gives he absolutely no information of value about life before the revolution. He ends up at Charrington’s shop where he buys the coral paperweight and talks to him about his life - where he gets the idea to rent the room. Walks home and sees Julia then thinks about assaulting her and smashing her head in with a rock. When he gets home he tries to write in the diary but the noise from the telescreen is blocking his thoughts.

(94) ‘in principle a party member had no spare time, and was never alone except in bed’

• Spare time cultivates thoughts, and so does loneliness.
• Always keep the people drained and overwhelmed it makes them better workers and more likely to conform out of sheer exhaustion.

(95) ‘somehow curiously suggestive of rat-holes’

• Perhaps demonstrates Winston realising how badly life under the party is.
• Also particularly significant due to his fear of rats.

(106/107) ‘all the relevant facts were outside the range of their vision’

• Deliberately shows how the party’s distraction of the proles is working, how Winston’s hope in them is very much misplaced.

(116) ‘The lights would be switched off at the main at twenty-three thirty’

• Keeps everyone on the same schedule - the setting enables loss of individuality’

(117) ‘in moments of crisis one is never fighting against an external enemy, but always against ones own body’

• Recurring image of the body alerting people of the injustices they face - even though they think so, the Party cannot actually control people’s bodies.