Part II, Chapter 10 is a truly frightening segment of 1984 because it deals with betrayal and presumption. Winston and Julia are betrayed by Mr. Charrington, the antique store owner, who, we discover is really a member of the Thought Police. Winston and Julia are arrested, humiliated and made to realize that there is no escape from the long arm of the state. Of course, we could all see this coming. But when one’s private life is discovered by the state and the Gestapo is at your door, it is somehow always both unexpected and anticipated: perhaps an actual occurrence of doublethink.
Winston had presumed he had found a safe haven; it always imagined discovery would come, but not in his sanctuary of peace, passion and privacy.
Winston Smith has been marked for reeducation, vaporization or perhaps both.
