Page 193 - Orwell, George - Nineteen eighty-four -bilingüe [pdf]

George Orwell 1 9 8 4 192

He remembered the room where they lived, a Recordaba la habitación donde vivían, una estancia
dark, close-smelling room that seemed half filled oscura y siempre cerrada casi totalmente ocupada por
by a bed with a white counterpane. There was a la cama. Había un hornillo de gas y un estante donde
gas ring in the fender, and a shelf where food was ponía los alimentos.
kept, and on the landing outside there was a
brown earthenware sink, common to several
rooms. He remembered his mother's statuesque Recordaba el cuerpo estatuario de su madre inclinado
body bending over the gas ring to stir at sobre el hornillo de gas moviendo algo en la sartén.
something in a saucepan. Above all he Sobre todo recordaba su continua hambre y las
remembered his continuous hunger, and the sórdidas y feroces batallas a las horas de comer.
fierce sordid battles at mealtimes. He would ask Winston le preguntaba a su madre, con reproche una
his mother naggingly, over and over again, why y otra vez, por qué no había más comida. Gritaba y la
there was not more food, he would shout and fastidiaba, descompuesto en su afán de lograr una
storm at her (he even remembered the tones of parte mayor.
his voice, which was beginning to break
prematurely and sometimes boomed in a peculiar
way), or he would attempt a snivelling note of
pathos in his efforts to get more than his share.
His mother was quite ready to give him more Daba por descontado que él, el varón, debía tener la
than his share. She took it for granted that he, 'the ración mayor. Pero por mucho que la pobre mujer le
boy', should have the biggest portion; but diera, él pedía invariablemente más.
however much she gave him he invariably En cada comida la madre le suplicaba que no fuera
demanded more. At every meal she would tan egoísta y recordase que su hermanita estaba
beseech him not to be selfish and to remember enferma y necesitaba alimentarse; pero era inútil.
that his little sister was sick and also needed Winston cogía pedazos de comida del plato de su
food, but it was no use. He would cry out with hermanita y trataba de apoderarse de la fuente.
rage when she stopped ladling, he would try to Sabía que con su conducta condenaba al hambre a su
wrench the saucepan and spoon out of her hands, madre y a su hermana, pero no podía evitarlo.
he would grab bits from his sister's plate. He Incluso creía tener derecho a ello. El hambre que le
knew that he was starving the other two, but he torturaba parecía justificarlo. Entre comidas, si su
could not help it; he even felt that he had a right madre no tenía mucho cuidado, se apoderaba de la
to do it. The clamorous hunger in his belly escasa cantidad de alimento guardado en la alacena.
seemed to justify him. Between meals, if his
mother did not stand guard, he was constantly
pilfering at the wretched store of food on the
shelf.

One day a chocolate ration was issued. There had Un día dieron una ración de chocolate. Hacía mucho
been no such issue for weeks or months past. He tiempo — meses enteros — que no daban chocolate.
remembered quite clearly that precious little Winston recordaba con toda claridad aquel cuadrito
morsel of chocolate. It was a two-ounce slab oscuro y preciadísimo. Era una tableta de dos onzas
(they still talked about ounces in those days) (por entonces se hablaba todavía de onzas) que les
between the three of them. It was obvious that it correspondía para los tres. Parecía lógico que la
ought to be divided into three equal parts. tableta fuera dividida en tres partes iguales. De
Suddenly, as though he were listening to pronto — en el ensueño —, como si estuviera
somebody else, Winston heard himself escuchando a otra persona, Winston se oyó gritar
demanding in a loud booming voice that he exigiendo que le dieran todo el chocolate. Su madre
should be given the whole piece. His mother told le dijo que no fuese ansioso. Discutieron mucho;