1984

           ‘Yes,aseven‘ASwon! Icouldprettyneartellyouthebleedingnumber. Fourohseven,itendedin. ItwereinFebruary—secondweekinFebruary.’ 

           ‘Februaryyourgrandmother! Igotitalldowninblackandwhite. An’Itellyou,nonumber—’ 

           ‘Oh,packitin!’saidthethirdman. 

           TheyweretalkingabouttheLottery. Winstonlookedbackwhenhehadgonethirtymetres. Theywerestillarguing,withvivid,passionatefaces. TheLottery,withitsweeklypay-outofenormousprizes,wastheonepubliceventtowhichtheprolespaidseriousattention. ItwasprobablethatthereweresomemillionsofprolesforwhomtheLotterywastheprincipalifnottheonlyreasonforremainingalive. Itwastheirdelight,theirfolly,theiranodyne,theirintellectualstimulant. WheretheLotterywasconcerned,evenpeoplewhocouldbarelyreadandwriteseemedcapableofintricatecalculationsandstaggeringfeatsofmemory. Therewasawholetribeofmenwhomadealivingsimplybysellingsystems,forecasts,andluckyamulets. WinstonhadnothingtodowiththerunningoftheLottery,whichwasmanagedbytheMinistryofPlenty,buthewasaware(indeedeveryoneinthepartywasaware)thattheprizeswerelargelyimaginary. Onlysmallsumswereactuallypaidout,thewinnersofthebigprizesbeingnon-existentpersons. IntheabsenceofanyrealintercommunicationbetweenonepartofOceaniaandanother,thiswasnotdifficulttoarrange. 

           Butiftherewashope,itlayintheproles. Youhadtoclingontothat. Whenyouputitinwordsitsoundedreasonable:itwaswhenyoulookedatthehumanbeingspassingyouonthepavementthatitbecameanactoffaith.