1984

           ‘Good,’saidSymeabstractedly,withoutlookingupfromhisstripofpaper. 

           ‘Ofcoursewecan’taffordtotakechances,’agreedWinstondutifully. 

           ‘WhatImeantosay,thereisawaron,’saidParsons. 

           Asthoughinconfirmationofthis,atrumpetcallfloatedfromthetelescreenjustabovetheirheads. However,itwasnottheproclamationofamilitaryvictorythistime,butmerelyanannouncementfromtheMinistryofPlenty. 

           ‘Comrades! ’criedaneageryouthfulvoice. ‘Attention,comrades! Wehavegloriousnewsforyou. Wehavewonthebattleforproduction! Returnsnowcompletedoftheoutputofallclassesofconsumptiongoodsshowthatthestandardoflivinghasrisenbynolessthan20percentoverthepastyear. AlloverOceaniathismorningtherewereirrepressiblespontaneousdemonstrations whenworkersmarchedoutoffactoriesandofficesandparadedthroughthestreetswithbannersvoicingtheirgratitudetoBigBrotherforthenew,happylifewhichhiswiseleadershiphasbestoweduponus. Herearesomeofthecompletedfigures. Foodstuffs—’ 

           Thephrase‘ournew,happylife’recurredseveraltimes. IthadbeenafavouriteoflatewiththeMinistryofPlenty. Parsons,hisattentioncaughtbythetrumpetcall,satlisteningwithasortofgapingsolemnity,asortofedifiedboredom. Hecouldnotfollowthefigures,buthewasawarethattheywereinsomewayacauseforsatisfaction. Hehadluggedoutahugeandfilthypipewhichwasalreadyhalffullofcharredtobacco. Withthetobaccorationat100grammesaweekitwasseldompossibletofillapipetothetop. WinstonwassmokingaVictoryCigarettewhichheheldcarefullyhorizontal. Thenewrationdidnotstarttilltomorrowandhehadonlyfourcigarettesleft.