Syme, a colleague of Winston’s, eventually stops showing up at work. Winston is certain that Syme has been vaporized. Through Syme, Winston has learned that the Party’s drive to enforce Newspeak is central to its mission of curbing free thought. Newspeak is envisioned as a narrow, limited language inconducive for rebellious thought. Meanwhile, Parsons is elated by the communal bustle surrounding Hate Week. The tension is high, especially due to an increase in the Party’s rocket bomb stockpile. The patriotic fervor in the air has touched even the proles, who are usually indifferent to politics.

Julia and Winston continue meeting in the apartment, a place they now consider safe. Winston cuts down on the gin and has become healthier. Both know that the happiness they find together is not going to last forever. They discuss politics from time to time, and readers are once again reminded that Julia does not have much faith in organized rebellion; her rebellion is individualistic.

Interestingly, Winston is both amazed and confused by what he sees as her inconsistencies. Sometimes she could come across as extremely clear-sighted. In other instances, he found her claims rather irrational. For instance, she would claim that the bombings and the war are not really happening, that they are lies disseminated by the Party to maintain its control and domination. On the other hand, she had no trouble believing that the airplane was in fact invented by the Party.