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Copywork
About This Passage
The dark-haired girl secretly hands Winston a small folded note. When he finally reads it, it says, 'I love you.' Those three words change everything for him. Winston has been so sad and frightened that he had almost stopped wanting to live, but now, all at once, he wants to stay alive. Because he has something to live for, he stops wanting to take silly, dangerous risks. Copying this sentence helps a young reader feel how a few words of love can give a person hope again, even in a frightening world.
At the sight of the words I love you the desire to stay alive had welled up in him, and the taking of minor risks suddenly seemed stupid.
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell this chapter in your own words: how the dark-haired girl falls and hurts her arm in the hallway, how Winston helps her up and she secretly slips him a note that says 'I love you,' how Winston suddenly wants to stay alive but finds it very hard and dangerous to meet her, and how they finally whisper a plan and squeeze hands in a crowd watching a line of prisoners.
Discussion Questions
- When the girl falls and hurts her arm, Winston hurries to help her, even though he had thought she was an enemy who wanted to hurt him. Why might Winston help someone he was afraid of, and what does that show about him? Use the chapter's details about the fall to explain.
- The girl's secret note says only three words: 'I love you.' Yet those words make Winston suddenly want to stay alive. Why might three small words change the way Winston feels so much? Use the chapter's details about how Winston feels after reading the note to explain.
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Vocabulary
Item 1
Tripped and almost fell.
Item 2
A cloth loop that holds up a hurt arm.
Item 3
Something that causes great pain or worry.
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Critical Thinking
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