Parsons and the Spies in Miniature

Follows the devoted Party member Parsons and his family, whose children embody the Party's system of surveillance and betrayal.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Blocked Sink

The Blocked Sink The Neighbor's Plea Mrs Parsons knocks on Winston's door and asks him to fix a blocked kitchen sink. He kneels in the dingy flat and removes a clot of hair from the pipe, surrounded by the grime of a decaying household. The Children Her two children appear, a boy of nine with a toy pistol and a girl of seven with a fragment of wood. They shout 'Traitor!' and 'Thought-criminal!' at Winston, their eyes full of calculating ferocity. The Fear The parents live in terror of their own children. The party has turned the young into amateur spies, and Mrs Parsons cannot discipline her son without fear of denunciation.

The Catapult in the Back

The Catapult in the Back The Boy's Attack As Winston leaves, the Parsons boy hits him in the back of the neck with a catapult bullet, then shouts 'Goldstein!' The mother drags the child inside with helpless fright. The Normalized Violence Winston reflects that almost all children nowadays are horrible. The Spies organize them into ungovernable little savages, but their ferocity is directed outward, against the enemies of the State. The Coming Betrayal Winston predicts that within two years these children will be denouncing their mother to the Thought Police. The family has become an extension of the surveillance apparatus.

The Daughter's Catch

The Daughter's Catch The Proud Father Parsons tells Winston and Syme about his seven-year-old daughter. She slipped away from a community hike, followed a strange man for two hours, and handed him over to the patrols because she noticed his unusual shoes. The Indoctrination Parsons is proud of her vigilance. He boasts that the Spies issue ear trumpets for listening through keyholes and teaches children to detect foreigners. The Blindness Winston listens in silence, aware that Parsons is a perfect instrument of the Party. The man's stupidity is his protection, but his children will be even more deadly.

Denounced by His Daughter

Denounced by His Daughter The Cellmate Parsons appears in Winston's cell, his frog-like face trembling and full of misery. He has been arrested for thoughtcrime after saying 'Down with Big Brother' in his sleep. The Betrayal His own daughter listened at the keyhole and reported him to the patrols. Parsons is almost proud: 'It shows I brought her up in the right spirit.' He trusts the Party to forgive him. The Absurdity The man who personifies blind loyalty is destroyed by the system he loves. His daughter's betrayal is the logical endpoint of his own values.

The Prayer for Punishment

The Prayer for Punishment The Plea Parsons begs Winston to reassure him that he will not be shot. He insists he is not a bad chap, just a keen one, and that a labour camp would be more suitable. He practices the confession he will give before the tribunal. The Collapse The waiting drives him to use the lavatory in full view of everyone, a final loss of dignity. His body betrays the terror his words deny. The Ending Parsons is led away, still hoping for punishment as a form of forgiveness. The Party has shaped a creature who cannot imagine freedom even when it would save him.

the opening evening, April 1984

the same evening

a canteen conversation a few days later

after Winston's arrest, in the Ministry of Love

later in the cell scene