The following are some questions to consider as you read our class text. Show me your work, and I'll show you my good side: answer one, several, or all of the following questions in comments below--the more responses I get, the less like Big Brother and the more like Little Brother I'll become ;)
1) Describe, in short paragraph form, what the term "Newspeak" is, who speaks it, who advocates it, how it works and its general effect on the populace of London, Airstrip One.
2) Describe, in short paragraph form, who the 'proles' are, what is meant by the party slogan "proles and animals are free", and discuss what is meant by Winston's journal entry: "Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious".
3) Describe, in short paragraph form using examples from the text, the present nature of Winston's relationship with Katherine, and Winston's opinion thereof.
4) Describe, in short paragraph form, who Commander Ogilvy was, explain how this character is an example of "doublethink", and define "doublethink" using several other examples from the text.
5) Describe, in short paragraph form, Winston's attitude towards O'Brien, using key moments in the text where O'Brien is mentioned explicitly (up to Part 1, Ch. 8).
6) Describe, in short paragraph form, the general structure of The Party: its functions, its organization, its enforcers, its propaganda, etc.
7) Comment, in short paragraph form, on the veracity of Orwell's prediction.
8) Comment, in short paragraph form, on the psychological impact of the events "Two Minutes Hate" and "Hate Week".
9) Research George Orwell (Eric Blair) and discuss, in short paragraph form, elements of his personal life and experiences that apparently influenced the subject matter found in
1984, drawing key examples from the text.
10) Describe, in short paragraph form, Winston's profession. Answer the following questions: What does Winston do? How does he feel about his job? With whom does Winston work? How does his role impact society at large? Does Winston's profession have a corollary in our world?
