1984 Notes and Study Guide British Literature

Transcription

1 In, Orwell set his book 35 years into the future the year. Where he envisioned only 3 superpowers would run the whole world! 1. --Britain (Orwell s homeland) and the United States of America 2. --Soviet Union and its satellites 3. --China and its satellites What was happening in the year 1949? became a communist country had the Nuclear Bomb Average cost of a new house: Average wages per year: Cost of a gallon of gas: Average cost of a new car: Minimum wage: What actually happened in the year 1984? The is identified releases the Macintosh Computer Sony and Phillips introduce the first commercial Average cost of a new house: Average income per year: Cost of a gallon of gas: Orwell s Thesis s Thesis #1: If a dictator can control the, society s under that dictator can and will limit and/or direct how individual s. Thesis #2: A repressive society relies on and as a means to control it citizens.

2 By the end of the novel, you will be able to Define the terms and and relate them to the novel Define the terms and and point out examples in the novel Prove the following themes that are developed in the novel 1. The systematic of people 2. The evils of 3. The corruption of 4. The failure of 5. The weakness of the when confronted with the power of the TERMS AND DEFINITIONS FROM THE NOVEL 1. : the idea of holding 2 contradictory opinions knowing they are contradictory, yet believing in both. 2. : a week in which Oceania citizens attend rallies and parades to inflame their hatred of Party enemies and heighten efforts on behalf of Oceania. ( Two Minutes Hate ). 3. : the name of the party that rules Oceania. The name is taken from English Socialism, a form of government in England. 4. : Oceania s official language. 5. : short for proletarians, the uneducated masses of common people 6. : a giant screen in every public place and a smaller one in private places; these screens both transmit Party propaganda and entertainment and spy on Party members. 7. : any thinking not approved by the Party. Anyone arrested for this crime is eventually vaporized by the Thought Police 8. : a criminal who has been purged of anti-party ideas. The person has been removed from the Party and perhaps even vaporized and removed from history through changes in written records. 9. : a method of silencing enemies of the Party. The person disappears, and nobody knows why or how. 10. : a suspected underground network of conspirators dedicated to the overthrow of the State. It s leader Emmanuel Goldstein 4 Ministries in Oceania: 1. The Ministry of : controls news, entertainment, education, fine arts, etc. 2. The Ministry of : concerns itself with war 3. The Ministry of : maintained law and order; enforces the rules & punishes 4. The Ministry of : responsible for economic affairs

3 VOCABULARY AND STUDY GUIDE ONE: 1. interminable never ending; ceaseless 2. nebulous vague; unclear 3. orthodoxy those who follow the traditional or usual way of doing something 4. sanguine ruddy, reddish 5. tableaux a series of staged scenes 6. compendium a brief statement or account o a subject 7. repudiate refuse to acknowledge or accept 8. statuesque tall and shapely 9. gesticulating gesturing with one s hands and arms, as when talking 10. proletarian a member of the working class; an industrial worker 11. pedant a person who boasts of his level of knowledge 12. strident grating, nerve-wracking 13. tacitly implicitly; not physically expressed, but implied 14. axiom a true statement 15. defection to leave one cause or belief to take up another 16. heresy the act of going against popular or dominant opinion 17. altercation a fight or argument 18. amulets charms worn to protect the wearer from evil 19. cumbersome awkward and hard to handle 20. nostalgia a warm emotional feeling for a time that has passed I 1. In the second paragraph, what important items of information do we learn about the society in which Winston Smith lives? 2. Once Winston is inside his flat, what item is identified, and what is its significance? 3. What do we learn about the two types of police? 4. The three Party slogans on the side of the building are paradoxes. Explain. 5. Point out the irony in the names of Oceania s 4 Ministries that run the government. 6. Why do you suppose this government would frown on the writing of a diary? 7. Summarize what Winston sees in the Two Minutes Hate video. 8. What passes between O Brien and Smith, and what might this suggest to Winston? II 1. Describe Winston s neighbor s flat. 2. After mentioning the constant surveillance under which the people live, Winston says that there is nothing of your own except one small thing? What is that thing? III 1. What do we learn of Winston s memory of his mother? 2. Toward the end of this section Winston describes doublethink. How does the Party use doublethink? IV/V 1. What was Winston s relationship with Syme? Why does he believe Syme will be vaporized?

4 VI 1. For what reason would the Party not approve a marriage between two people? VII 1. Why does Winston believe that the only hope of a government overthrow lies in the hands of the proles? What do the proles have that the upper classes do not? 2. What is he speaking of when Winston says, I understand the HOW: I do not understand the Why? VIII 1. Why does Winston think of renting Mr. Charrington s room? 2. What is Winston s first reaction when he sees the dark-haired girl on the street? What action does he consider? I/II III IV V TWO: 1. incriminating proving involvement in a crime 2. virtuosity extraordinary skill 3. infallible incapable of making a mistake 4. effigy a representation of a person who is hated 5. impudent rude 6. inert sluggish; not active 7. pathos something that evokes pity or compassion 8. pilfering stealing 9. remonstrance protest 10. superfluous extra 11. demoralization weakness in discipline or spirit 12. equivocal uncertain, ambiguous 13. formidable creating fear or dread 14. drudgery physically difficult, menial, or monotonous work 15. oligarchy a government in which power is in the hands of just a few people 16. propaganda material used to spread ideas, usually to further one cause & damage another 17. socialism a theory of government in which all society members share in the production and distribution of goods 18. tenets principles of a group 19. totalitarianism system of government where all aspects of people s lives are strictly controlled by their leaders 20.utopianism the belief that a perfect society can be created 1. What imagery is depicted at the beginning of section II? 2. What does the girl say about her many activities in the Anti-Sex League? 3. Define motif and explain why one motif in the novel is the scarcity of consumer goods such as butter, razor blades, and real chocolate. Why does this scarcity exist? 4. Why is this world constantly at war? 1. From Julia s perspective, why does the Party want to extinguish sexual activity? 2. What is the difference in the way Winston and Julia appear to view the future? 1. Describe the emphasis Orwell puts into the discussion of rats in this section. 1. What happens to Syme? Why is this important?

5 2. Winston feels that Julia, in some ways, is far more acute than he is in regard to the Party propaganda. What points does she raise that Winston has never considered? VI/VII 1. What realization does Winston make regarding the proles? How does he reach that conclusion? 2. What does Winston say is the one thing Julia and he must never do? VIII 1. When they visit O Brien, what does he tell them about the Brotherhood? 2. What is the one thing Winston and Julia will not do for the cause? IX 1. What change in the war situation takes place in Oceania, and how does the government treat this change? 2. What is in the briefcase that the man gives Winston, and why is this item of special importance to Winston? 3. Why does Goldstein say that it is important for an artificial scarcity of goods to exist? 4. Goldstein says that the war being waged against another superpower is not the real war. What is the real war? 5. What is Goldstein s theory about the new aristocracy? Who are they, and whom are they replacing? 6. Who does Goldstein say Big Brother is? X 1. What might the shattering of the coral encased in the glass dome be symbolic of? 2. Although we may or may not be surprised by Mr. Charrington s identity, why does it make perfect sense that he does turn out to be who he is? THREE: 1. din a loud, confused mixture of noises 2. emaciation the state of being extremely thin, almost to the point of starvation 3. forbearance patience 4. insidious shy 5. lethargy the state of being lazy, slow, or drowsy 6. sanctimonious hypocritically pious 7. abject low in spirit; having no hope 8. eradicate eliminate 9. posterity all future generations 10. seditious causing resistance or revolution against the government 11. vindicate to free from blame 12. contemptible deserving to be despised 13. fallacy a false or mistaken idea 14. insurrection an act of revolting against authority 15. malleable capable of being shaped 16. frivolity a trivial act that lacks seriousness 17. torpid sluggish or lacking vigor 18. didactically intending to teach a moral lesson 19. cauterized burned to prevent infection 20. disquieting unsettling, disturbing I 1. Room 101, which is especially feared by the prisoners, appears to be an interrogation room. Describe the prisoner s reactions to being sent to Room 101.

6 II III IV V VI 1. O Brien tells Winston that the object of the interrogation is not to get a confession, although Winston does that easily; nor is the object to punish, although he receives a great deal of punishment. What is the object of the interrogation? 1. When Winston is asked why he thinks the Party clings to power, what answer forms in his head? What is Winston told is the real reason? 2. What does Winston say will eventually destroy the Party and cause them to fail? 3. For an answer to question #3, what does O Brien show Winston? Why does O Brien use this strategy? 1. When O Brien arrives to question Winston, what is O Brien expecting to accomplish by sending Winston to Room 101? 1. How does Winston describe what is in Room 101? What is in there for Winston? 2. In order to save himself, what does Winston cry out, and why is it that in crying this out, he will be saved? 1. What is Winston s routine now? 2. How do Winston and Julia feel about each other the next time they meet? Why? 3. On pg. 295, describe the memory that floated into his [Winston s] mind. 4. What is implied in the next-to-last paragraph of the novel?