Page 111 - Orwell, George - Nineteen eighty-four -bilingüe [pdf]

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man, bent but active, with white moustaches that blancos, encorvado, pero bastante activo, empujó la
bristled forward like those of a prawn, pushed open puerta oscilante y entró. Mientras observaba desde
the swing door and went in. As Winston stood allí, se le ocurrió a Winston que aquel viejo, que
watching, it occurred to him that the old man, who por lo menos debía de tener ochenta años, habría
must be eighty at the least, had already been middle- sido ya un hombre maduro cuando ocurrió la
aged when the Revolution happened. He and a few Revolución. Él y unos cuantos como él eran los
others like him were the last links that now existed últimos eslabones que unían al mundo actual con el
with the vanished world of capitalism. In the Party mundo desaparecido del capitalismo. En el Partido
itself there were not many people left whose ideas no había mucha gente cuyas ideas se hubieran
had been formed before the Revolution. The older formado antes de la Revolución. La generación más
generation had mostly been wiped out in the great vieja había sido barrida casi por completo en las
purges of the fifties and sixties, and the few who grandes purgas de los años cincuenta y sesenta y
survived had long ago been terrified into complete los pocos que sobrevivieron vivían aterrorizados y
intellectual surrender. If there was any one still alive en una entrega intelectual absoluta. Si vivía aún
who could give you a truthful account of conditions alguien que pudiera contar con veracidad las
in the early part of the century, it could only be a condiciones de vida en la primera mitad del siglo,
prole. Suddenly the passage from the history book tenía que ser un prole. De pronto recordó Winston
that he had copied into his diary came back into el trozo del libro de historia que había copiado en
Winston's mind, and a lunatic impulse took hold of su Diario y le asaltó un impulso loco. Entraría en la
him. He would go into the pub, he would scrape taberna, trabaría conocimiento con aquel viejo y le
acquaintance with that old man and question him. He interrogaría. Le diría: «Cuénteme su vida cuando
would say to him: 'Tell me about your life when you era usted un muchacho, ¿se vivía entonces mejor
were a boy. What was it like in those days? Were que ahora o peor?
things better than they are now, or were they worse?'

Hurriedly, lest he should have time to become Precipitadamente, para no tener tiempo de
frightened, he descended the steps and crossed the asustarse, bajó la escalinata y cruzó la calle. Desde
narrow street. It was madness of course. As usual, luego, era una locura. Como de costumbre, no
there was no definite rule against talking to proles había ninguna prohibición concreta de hablar con
and frequenting their pubs, but it was far too unusual los proles y frecuentar sus tabernas, pero no podía
an action to pass unnoticed. If the patrols appeared pasar inadvertido ya que era rarísimo que alguien lo
he might plead an attack of faintness, but it was not hiciera. Si aparecía alguna patrulla, Winston podría
likely that they would believe him. He pushed open decir que se había sentido mal, pero no lo iban a
the door, and a hideous cheesy smell of sour beer hit creer. Empujó la puerta y le dio en la cara un
him in the face. As he entered the din of voices repugnante olor a queso y a cerveza agria. Al entrar
dropped to about half its volume. Behind his back he él, las voces casi se apagaron. Todos los presentes
could feel everyone eyeing his blue overalls. A game le miraban su «mono» azul. Unos individuos que
of darts which was going on at the other end of the jugaban al blanco con unos dardos se
room interrupted itself for perhaps as much as thirty interrumpieron durante medio minuto. El viejo al
seconds. The old man whom he had followed was que él había seguido estaba acodado en el bar
standing at the bar, having some kind of altercation discutiendo con el barman, un joven corpulento de
with the barman, a large, stout, hook-nosed young nariz ganchuda y enormes antebrazos. Otros
man with enormous forearms. A knot of others, clientes, con vasos en la mano, contemplaban la
standing round with glasses in their hands, were escena.
watching the scene.

'I arst you civil enough, didn't I?' said the old man, — ¿Vas a decirme que no puedes servirme una
straightening his shoulders pugnaciously. 'You pinta de cerveza? — decía el viejo.
telling me you ain't got a pint mug in the 'ole