"Do you remember," he went on, "writing in your diary,
'Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four'?"
"Yes," said Winston.
O'Brien held up his left hand, its back toward
Winston, with the thumb hidden and the four fingers extended.
"How many fingers am I holding up,
Winston?"
"Four."
"And if the Party says that it is not four
but five -- then how many?"
"Four."
The word ended in a gasp of pain. The needle of
the dial had shot up to fifty-five. The sweat had sprung out all over Winston's
body. The air tore into his lungs and issued again in deep groans which even by
clenching his teeth he could not stop. O'Brien watched him, the four fingers
still extended. He drew back the lever. This time the pain was only slightly
eased.
"How many fingers, Winston?"
"Four."
The needle went up to sixty.
"How many fingers, Winston?"
"Four! Four! What else can I say?
Four!"
The needle must have risen again, but he did not
look at it. The heavy, stern face and the four fingers filled his vision. The
fingers stood up before his eyes like pillars, enormous, blurry, and seeming to
vibrate, but unmistakably four.
"How many fingers, Winston?"
"Four! Stop it, stop it! How can you go on?
Four! Four!"
"How many fingers, Winston?"
"Five! Five! Five!"
"No, Winston, that is no use. You are lying.
You still think there are four. How many fingers, please?"
"Four! Five! Four! Anything you like. Only
stop it, stop the pain!"
Abruptly he was sitting up with O'Brien's arm
round his shoulders. He had perhaps lost consciousness for a few seconds. The
bonds that had held his body down were loosened. He felt very cold, he was
shaking uncontrollably, his teeth were chattering, the tears were rolling down
his cheeks. For a moment he clung to O'Brien like a baby, curiously comforted by
the heavy arm round his shoulders. He had the feeling that O'Brien was his
protector, that the pain was something that came from outside, from some other
source, and that it was O'Brien who would save him from it.
"You are a slow learner, Winston," said
O'Brien gently.
"How can I help it?" he blubbered.
"How can I help seeing what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are
four."
"Sometimes, Winston, sometimes they are
five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must
try harder. It is not easy to become sane."
-- George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four
George Orwell's "1984"- Read
it ON Line!
(So you will KNOW what it means when somebody refers to the "Orwellian
World")