In part 2 of the book, Winston's affair with Julia , which turns from lust to love, starts him on the path of reclaiming his humanity. Winston and Julia also move from their personal love affair to enter what they believe is a conspiracy against the state, and finally,...
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as Winston fully humanizes, they are arrested, ending this part of the novel.
Given the importance of Julia to Winston's life, the first chapter of the section is critically important. In this chapter, the two make genuine contact, initially through Julia's note, and finally in a rendezvous at Victory Square. Julia has reached out to Winston, and rather than flee in fear, Winston responds. At the end of the chapter, their hands clasp for a few seconds, foreshadowing how they will be linked together for the rest of this section:
her hand felt for his and gave it a fleeting squeeze. It could not have been ten seconds, and yet it seemed a long time that their hands were clasped together.
Chapter eight is the second of the three most important chapters in this section. Winston and Julia visit O'Brien in his apartment, see how well he lives compared to them, commit themselves to the overthrow the state, and are promised The Book, which will reveal the truth of Oceania.
Chapter ten, though short, is also extremely important. Winston has gained the intellectual knowledge of what the oligarchy is trying to accomplish from having read part of The Book in the previous chapter. More importantly, he humanizes to the point that he is able to see the beauty and the value of the old prole washerwoman who is always hanging laundry outside the window of Mr. Charrington's shop. He says she is beautiful and realizes the future belongs to the proles. It is at this moment that he and Julia are arrested and the life they have built for themselves is destroyed. A new phase, and a new part of the novel, will begin.
Some of the most important scenes of 1984 occur in Part 2 of the book. The first comes in Chapter 2, when Winston and Julia meet in secret in the woods. This is the beginning of their romantic relationship and their rebellion against the party. Its significance is summed up succinctly in the closing lines of the chapter:
"Their embrace had been a battle, the climax a victory. It was a blow struck against the Party. It was a political act."
Secondly, another important scene happens in Chapter 8, when Winston and Julia meet O'Brien in his apartment. They believe that Winston is part of the underground resistance movement against Big Brother. In reality, O'Brien is a member of the Thought Police and, by meeting with him, they have unwittingly betrayed themselves as thought criminals. This leads to another key scene in Part 2: Winston and Julia's arrest in chapter 10.
By placing these scenes in Part 2, Orwell devotes this section of the book to developing Winston and Julia's rebellion against the party. We see their relationship blossom, their feelings against Big Brother harden and their desire to break free get stronger. This sets the scene for Part 3 in the book where Winston and Julia are imprisoned, tortured and forced to accept Big Brother.