At lunch, Winston’s “friend,” Syme lectures him on the principals of Newspeak, the only language that regularly loses words instead of gains them, effectively narrowing the range of thought. Syme says that, by the year 2050, everyone will be fluent in Newspeak. This idea disturbs Winston, but he dare not show it. Parsons, Winston’s neighbor at Victory Mansions, joins them at the table and tells of his children who are constantly on watch for unorthodox behavior. Although seemingly uneasy about this, Parsons praises his children nonetheless. From the telescreen comes a loud announcement that, among other things, the chocolate ration is going up. Winston distinctly remembers that, just the day before, the ration was being reduced and he wonders if he is alone in this memory.
Winston sees the dark-haired girl from the Fiction Department (Julia) staring at him, and he is sure that she is a member of the Thought Police. He muses about many of the people he knows and whether they will eventually be vaporized or not.
