1984

           ‘Lackeys!’hesaid. ‘Nowthere’sawordIain’t’eardsinceeversolong. Lackeys!Thatreg’lartakesmeback,thatdoes. Irecollect—oh,donkey’syearsago—Iusedtosometimesgoto‘YdeParkofaSundayafternoonto’eartheblokesmakingspeeches. SalvationArmy,RomanCatholics,Jews,Indians—allsortstherewas. Andtherewasonebloke—well,Icouldn’tgiveyou’isname,butarealpowerfulspeaker’ewas.’Edidn’t’alfgiveit’em! "Lackeys!"’esays,"lackeysofthebourgeoisie!Flunkiesoftherulingclass!" Parasites—thatwasanotherofthem. And’yenas—’edefinitelycalled’em’yenas. Ofcourse’ewasreferringtotheLabourParty,youunderstand.’ 

           Winstonhadthefeelingthattheyweretalkingatcross-purposes. 

           ‘WhatIreallywantedtoknowwasthis,’hesaid. ‘Doyoufeelthatyouhavemorefreedomnowthanyouhadinthosedays? Areyoutreatedmorelikeahumanbeing? Intheolddays,therichpeople,thepeopleatthetop——’ 

           ‘The‘OuseofLords,’putintheoldmanreminiscently. 

           ‘TheHouseofLords,ifyoulike. WhatIamaskingis,werethesepeopleabletotreatyouasaninferior,simplybecausetheywererichandyouwerepoor? Isitafact,forinstance,thatyouhadtocallthem"Sir"andtakeoffyourcapwhenyoupassedthem?’ 

           Theoldmanappearedtothinkdeeply. Hedrankoffaboutaquarterofhisbeerbeforeanswering. 

           ‘Yes,’hesaid. ‘Theylikedyoutotouchyourcapto’em. Itshowedrespect,like. Ididn’tagreewithit,myself,butIdoneitoftenenough. Hadto,asyoumightsay.’