1984

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1984

Belarus, an Eastern European country bordering Russia and Ukraine, has banned the sale of 1984 by George Orwell as of May 19, 2022. 

George Orwell's 1984 has repeatedly been banned and challenged in the past for its social and political themes, as well as for sexual content. Additionally, in 1981, the book was challenged in Jackson County, Florida, for being pro-communism.

Books like this should be banned.

1

Yes

2

No

Plot 1984

• Winston begins questioning the Party

• Starts a secret relationship with Julia

• O’Brien pretends to support rebellion

• Winston is betrayed and tortured

• Ultimately, Winston accepts Big Brother

What is the perspective/point of view of this story

Third-person limited

through the perspective of Winston

•The story follows Winston

•We hear Winston’s thoughts, fears, doubts.

•But we don’t get access to Julia’s or O’Brien’s thoughts.

•This makes the reader just as uncertain and paranoid as Winston.

Characters

• Winston: rebellious, thoughtful, insecure

• Julia: practical rebel seeking personal freedom

• O’Brien: manipulative, powerful, loyal to the Party

• The Party: faceless power controlling society

Where and when does this take place?

-1984 is set in near-future Oceania.

-World is divided into 3 super states.

-The super-country of Oceania is in a constant state of war with the other states.

-The city where the protagonist lives is still named London, though the country is now called Airstrip One.

-The living conditions are poor – very poor – with the buildings dilapidated (vervallen), the food synthetic and rationed out, wages poor, and clothing shoddy (=badly made/ low quality)..

-One cannot expect privacy anywhere, as there is a telescreen (that monitors behaviour visually and audibly) in almost every room (in your home).

-

•

Themes

●Central idea(s) in a text

●What is the story (really) about?
Often an underlying message.

●(usually) multiple layers (+,+..)

●What has the author meant to say?

●What does the reader think?

●Do not confuse theme with subject.

●Subject = topic (e.g. life in suburban America).

●Theme = underlying topic (e.g. poverty, fear, etc).

The Dangers Of Totalitarianism

"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past."

Psychological Manipulation

"2 + 2 = 5"

Early in the novel, Winston writes that “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four.” The motif comes full circle at the end of the novel after the torture Winston suffers in the Ministry of Love breaks his soul; he sits at the Chestnut Tree Café and traces “2 + 2 = 5” in the dust on his table.

Language As Mind Control

“‘Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it.’”

Any other themes?

Themes

• Totalitarianism and Control

• Surveillance and Loss of Privacy

• Manipulation of Truth

• Individual vs. State

• Utopia vs Dystopia

Symbolism

A symbol is something that represents something else:

●A symbol is a word, an image, or anything that somehow represents a larger idea.

●In other words, what you see is not just what you get.

●Symbols are more than meets the eye. They're loaded with meaning.

Symbolism in 1984

• Big Brother – Absolute power

• Paperweight – Connection to the past

• Telescreens – Constant surveillance

• Room 101 – Personal fear

Conflict

•Conflict in a novel is the problem or struggle that the characters face.

•It is what creates tension and makes the story interesting.

There are two main types:

✔️ Internal conflict

A struggle inside a character’s mind.
Example: fear, doubt, guilt, difficult choices.

✔️ External conflict

A struggle with something outside the character.
Example: another person, society, rules, danger, a situation.

In short:
Conflict = what the story’s characters are fighting against, inside or outside.

•

Conflict in 1984

• Internal: Winston vs. his own fear and doubt

• External: Winston vs. The Party

• Society vs. Individual freedom

We are already living in the world of 1984

1

yes

2

no

Winston commits thoughtcrime by writing which of the following in his diary?

A

I HATE BIG BROTHER

B

DOWN WITH THE PARTY

C

DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER

D

DEATH TO BIG BROTHER

What organization urges children to turn their parents over to the authorities?

A

The party youth

B

The Junior Spies

C

The outer party

D

The Committee of Oceanian Patriotism

The psychological principle that allows an individual to believe contradictory ideas at the same time is called what?

A

Doublethink

B

Doublemind

C

Thoughtcrime

D

Doublespeak

Besides Oceania, what are the two countries that make up the rest of the Earth?

A

Eurasia and Australasia

B

Eurasia and Eastasia

C

Eastasia and Africasia

D

Australasia and Americom

What does O’Brien say when Winston asks if he has been captured?

A

I am one of them

B

I’m afraid so

C

They got me a long time ago

D

I would die before I would let that happen

Essay Question

   Winston believes that “If there is hope, it lies in the proles.”

Why does Winston place his hope in the proles?

Discuss whether the proles truly have the power to challenge the Party, using examples from the novel.

150 - 180 words