The Diary as a Letter to the FutureFollows Winston's blank book from its purchase to its role as a testament addressed to an unborn age.1The Beauty of the Blank Pagebefore the story opens, Winston buys it in a junk shop2Down with Big BrotherApril 4, 1984, the first evening3Greetings to the Futurelater on the same day, after Mrs Parsons' visit4A Diary Written for O'Brienafter the discovery of the photograph, mid Part I5The Diary That Outlives Its Writerafter Winston's arrest, by implication