At the door is Mrs. Parsons, his neighbor, who needs help unclogging her kitchen sink. Winston is relieved to find out that it was not the Thought Police at his door. Mrs. Parsons’ husband, Tom, also works at the Ministry of Truth. Incidentally, Winston regards Tom as a “drudge,” and does not respect him all that much. Though Tom is good at fixing things, Mrs. Parsons has to seek Winston’s favor since Tom is currently at work.

Several parts of this chapter shed light on the Parsons kids’ disturbing behavior with Winston as he unclogs the pipe. He realizes that kids in general are completely brainwashed by the Party at a very young age. They participate in rallies and sloganeering in support of the Party, and all their anger is directed toward enemies of the state. Sometimes they playfully regard Winston as a threat (one of them even yells “Goldstein” after shooting Winston in the back of his neck with a play bullet).

Back in his apartment, Winston starts thinking about O’Brien again. For Winston, O’Brien is a reason to hope that the world could be different. He believes he has forged some meaningful connection with O’Brien. The telescreen now features reports of a distant military victory, followed by reports of a reduction in the rations for chocolate. Realizing that the diary could land him in grave trouble, Winston finds himself overcome by dread. However, he is able to experience a new sense of freedom as he realizes that living in this totalitarian regime is as good as being dead.