Oranges and Lemons - 1984 X

"'Did you ever happen to hear an old rhyme that begins Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clements?' Again O'Brien nodded. With a sort of grave courtesy he completed the stanza:
'Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clements,
You owe me three farthings, say the bells of St. Martin's,
When will you pay me? say the bells of Old Bailey,
When I grow rich, say the bells of Shoreditch'"(178).

The rhyme that Winston searches for all throughout the first half of the book is actually an old traditional song.... Perhaps the rhyme was chosen by Orwell because of its sinister connotations: it is believed that the rhyme was highly influenced by the public executions that took place at Newgate prison, which was located right beside Old Bailey, England's most important court. The bells of Old Bailey would ring before an execution, therefore asking the condemned criminals "When will you pay me?"

Ironic in many ways, Orwell chooses O'Brien to finally reveal the last line of the rhyme. In a prime example of doublethink, O'Brien, a full fledged member of the Party and the Thought Police, is the one who knows the entire rhyme, although he should have no knowledge of such a thing ever having existed. It seems Orwell uses this rhyme to symbolize how near Winston is to betrayal. Early in the novel Winston learns the first two lines from the owner of the junk shop, who is really a member of the thought police surveying Winston along with the rest. Then when Winston meets Julia he learns the third line and further loses himself to the thought police by being ever present in the room in the junk shop, that is complete with a hidden telescreen. Then when Winston finally meets his final "betrayer," O'Brien, the man to get the confession out of Winston as well as to fully earn his trust, he learns the last line.

http://www.rhymes.org.uk/oranges_and_lemons.htm
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/LONold.htm http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/LONnewgate.htm