Part 2: Chapter 4

1) Who is Mr. Charrington and where do Julia and Winston now meet?

Mr. Charrington is the owner of the antique shop Winston got the paperweight. Mr. Charrington rents the upstairs room to Winston and Julia for some extra money, and to give them some much needed privacy.

2) What is a “versificator”? (p145)

A versificator is a machine that produces songs and music without any human assistance.

3) Julia shows up with groceries.  Where did she get them?
Julia got the groceries from a waiter or servants who sneak some of the Inner Party's food away.

4) What does Julia talk about that horrifies Winston?

Julia sees a rat in the room they are in, and throws her shoe at it, then goes on with talking about rats, which Winston dislikes very much.

5) Describe the paperweight (p152).  Why does Winston like it? How is the paperweight like a metaphor for their relationship? (p154)


The paperweight is a piece of coral inside glass that Winston describes as having so much depth, yet has the transparent quality of air. Winston likes it because of its uselessness and beauty. He feels like the glass is the world around him, and the piece of coral is Julia's life  and his own frozen in time at the center of this beautiful object.

6) Nursery rhymes are mentioned throughout the novel. Write two verses of a nursery rhyme you sang as a child. Google the song and write a few notes about the origins. What is Orwell pointing out by mentioning nursery rhymes so often? (Hint: Inner and Outer party members are not allowed to sing these songs.)


Hey diddle diddle,
The Cat and the fiddle...      This song possibly dates back into the 16th century and has a few suspected references from various plays. It also has many theories about its meaning.
Orwell's mention of nursery rhymes could be because of their catchy tune and how they are  remembered from before the Revolution. Party members should not sing them, because it may lead to thinking about life before the Revolution and thoughtcrime.

7) Choose one or two lines that attracted your attention.  Discuss why.

 "He had never before seen or imagined a woman of
the Party with cosmetics on her face," was interesting to me because it seemed so strange, that women of the Party were not allowed to wear makeup and could not look feminine. Maybe this rule was made so women look less desirable to men.

"In this room I’m
going to be a woman, not a Party comrade," is said by Julia and gives the reader an idea of her daringness, and want for a change. She wants to feel like an individual, and wants to be a strong woman, not just another slave to the government.