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We get to tag along with Winston for lunch at the Ministry’s cafeteria. The food and atmosphere are on a par with prisons and public schools, maybe a bit worse. We are delighted to have lunch with Syme, a friend of Winston’s, or at least a comrade that he finds more companionable.
He is certainly one of the smarter denizens. Syme is a language geek, a philologist who is working on the latest edition of the Newspeak dictionary, the Eleventh edition. Hurry and pre-order your copy at Amazon! Though, he has his quirks. “In an intellectual way, Syme was venomously orthodox.” We can see that charming side of the man when he talks about the public hanging:
Winston finds this no more attractive and fun than we do, and it is not long before he steers the conversation so that we get an inside look of Oceania’s language.
He is certainly one of the smarter denizens. Syme is a language geek, a philologist who is working on the latest edition of the Newspeak dictionary, the Eleventh edition. Hurry and pre-order your copy at Amazon! Though, he has his quirks. “In an intellectual way, Syme was venomously orthodox.” We can see that charming side of the man when he talks about the public hanging:
”It was a good hanging,” said Syme reminiscently. “I think it spoils it when they tie their feet together. I like to see the kicking. And above all, at the end, the tongue sticking right out, and blue - a quite bright blue. That’s the detail that appeals to me.”Yes, it’s the bright quiet ones who are often a little weird, even twisted, no?
Winston finds this no more attractive and fun than we do, and it is not long before he steers the conversation so that we get an inside look of Oceania’s language.
