Nineteen Eighty-Four Part One: Chapters One—Two
Literature Focus: Author’s Purpose
Authors write for a variety of reasons. Some texts intend to inform the reader of specific factual
information, some try to persuade the reader of a particular position, and many fictional books just seek to
entertain the reader. While Orwell’s 1984 is fictional, it also acts as the author’s warning against the perils
of totalitarian governments. To this end, the author employs irony and specific motifs to set the mood of a
depressing, dystopian society.
Irony creates a contrast between what is expected or appears to be and what
actually occurs. To set the stage for a dystopian society, Orwell employs several
examples of irony.
Part One
Directions: For each example below, list its expected meaning or outcome, then
discuss its actual meaning or outcome in the novel so far. An example has been
completed for you.
Situation or
Expected Meaning or
Actual Meaning or
Language
Outcome
Outcome
(Irony)
1. 1. Ministry of Love
(p. 4)
Agency that cares for citizens
Maintains law and order
through force and fear
2. Ministry of Truth
(p. 4)
3. Ministry of Peace
(p. 4)
4. Ministry of Plenty
(p. 4)
5. Film of refugees in
a boat (p. 8-9)
6. Winston’s opinion
of his Workplace
(p. 17)
7. How do the above examples of irony disarm the reader and alert him/ her to the novel’s dystopian
setting?
8. How does the setting of a dystopian society act as a warning against the totalitarian governments
Orwell feared?
Part Two
Motifs are recurring objects or content in a literary work. When creating the society of 1984, Orwell
incorporates the motif of urban decay, or the breakdown of society, either literally or figuratively. How
does 1984’s motif of urban decay act as a warning against totalitarian governments?
Directions: Describe examples of urban decay from Part One: Chapters One and Two. An example has
been completed for you.
Ex. Elevator seldom worked in Victory Mansions (p.1)
Nineteen Eighty-Four Part One: Chapters Three—Four
Literature Focus: Social and Historical Influences
Authors create their works within a particular social and historical context. While historical fiction novels
are set in a particular time period, authors also create works to reflect the societal upheaval through which
they live. George Orwell published 1984 in 1949, a year after the close of World War II. While the allied
countries fought against the axis of fascist states in Europe and Asia, the closing days of the war
produced uncertainty about the Soviet and Chinese communist states. When placed into a historical
perspective, references to fascist and communist states, as well as prophecies of present-day society,
echo throughout 1984.
Directions: For each historical example, provide Orwell’s counterpart to it from Chapters Three-Four in
1984. Provide the quote and page numbers. An example has been completed for you.
Historical Reference
Counterpart in 1984
Soviet leader Joseph Stalin purged 5-8 million Soviet
citizens during the purges of the 1930s.
“The two of them (Winston’s parents) must evidently
have
been swallowed up on one of the first great purges of
the
Fifties.” (29)
Women in totalitarian cultures were frequently viewed
only in utilitarian terms of their strength and fitness for
child bearing.
From September 1940 to May 1941, Germany
repeatedly bombed British cities during the Blitz.
In August 1945, the United States dropped atomic
bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.
During World War II, the United States and the Soviet
Union fought together against the axis powers, until the
two superpowers became avowed enemies during the
Cold War.
Some countries and schools choose not to teach and
discuss historical events such as the Holocaust.
Since the 1940s, over twenty countries have officially
declared themselves to be socialist states.
During World War II, Great Britain’s Ministry of Food
instituted a system of food rationing.
Beginning in 1933, the Ministry of Public Enlightenment
and Propaganda produced posters, news reports, films,
and art in Nazi Germany.
Nineteen Eighty-Four Part One: Chapters Five—Six
Literature Focus: Themes of Mind Control and Psychological Manipulation
Themes are the key ideas in a work of literature. While a novel may evoke a variety of ideas, the work’s themes
extend throughout the piece of literature. To support a theme, the author revisits and supports the idea with textual
evidence throughout the novel. Orwell begins developing the themes of mind control and psychological manipulation
at the beginning of the novel and continues them throughout the book.
Directions: Describe examples of mind control and psychological manipulation from Part One: Chapters Five and
Six. An example has been completed for you.
Ex. Public hangings discourage political dissent (p. 49)
Nineteen Eighty-Four Part One: Chapters Seven—Eight
Literature Focus: Symbolism
In literature, authors frequently inject symbols into a novel to represent abstract ideas. Symbols, such as
using colorful leaves to represent autumn, may be commonly recognized, while other symbols may be
specific to the literary work. In 1984, George Orwell uses several symbols to infuse a deeper meaning into
the text.
Directions: For each symbol, select a passage from the novel that best incorporates
the symbol, and identify what the symbol represents.
Symbol
Passage
Representation
The Party’s
: “In the old days before the glorious
: The Party’s history books
history books
Revolution, London was not the
represent the Party’s total
beautiful city that we know today. . .
separation from the past.
When any ordinary person spoke to a
Ingsoc has set itself as a
capitalist he had to cringe and bow to
separate society and
him, and take off his cap and address
history, not as an extension
him as ‘Sir.’” (72-73)
of the society from which it
arose.
1. Song about
the Chestnut
Tree Café
2. Room over
Mr. Charrington’s
shop
3. Glass
paperweight
4. Poem about
St. Clement’s
Church
5. The place
where there is
no darkness
6. the Party’s
slogan
Nineteen Eighty-Four Part Two: Chapters One—Two
Literature Focus: Imagery
Authors utilize imagery to bring a literary work to life. By using descriptive and figurative language, an
author can paint a picture in the reader’s mind.
Directions: In each box, write at least 5 separate quotes from Part Two: Chapters One—Two of 1984 that
appeal to each of the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Be sure to include the page
number and paragraph for each quote. An example has been completed for you.
Sight
“Her face had
turned a
milky-yellow
color against
which
her mouth
stood out
redder than
ever.” P. 104,
par. 3
Sound
Smell
Taste
Touch
Nineteen Eighty-Four Part Two: Chapters Three—Four
Literature Focus: Characterization
An author reveals information about a novel’s characters in a variety of ways. In direct characterization,
the author directly informs the reader about the character without allowing the reader to infer any
information of his own. Indirect characterization provides information about the character, but also
allows the reader to draw conclusions about the character. Information may be conveyed by describing a
characters actions, thoughts, or feelings, as well as observing his/her interactions with other characters.
Directions: Using the clues, locate specific portions of the novel from Part Two: Chapters Three—Four
that convey information about Winston and Julia. Also characterize each example as direct or indirect
characterization and explain what it tells the reader about the characters. An example has been done for
you.
Clue
Quote
Type of
Characterization
Julia takes the lead
in her relationship
with Winston.
p. 127; “As soon as
she woke up her
demeanor had
changed. She
became alert and
Indirect
characterization
What the Quote
Reveals about the
Character
Julia has a more
dominant
personality than
Winston, and
Winston allows her
businesslike, put her
clothes on, knotted
the scarlet
sash about her
waist, and began
arranging the details
of the journey
home. It seemed
natural to leave this
to her.”
to take the lead in
the relationship.
1. Julia is not
interested in
overthrowing the
Party.
2. Julia is mainly
interested in her
personal pleasure.
3. Julia resorts to
violence more
quickly than
Winston.
4. Winston desires a
real relationship with
Julia.
5. Julia bucks the
Party’s rules on
women’s
appearance.
6. List Winston and Julia’s main characteristics or attributes, according to the work you did in the previous
chart.
Nineteen Eighty-Four Part Two: Chapters One—Two
Literature Focus: Manipulating History
Throughout 1984, Orwell repeatedly returns to the idea of manipulating history. In light of the historical
time period in which it was written, answer each question fully, using complete sentences for each quote
from the novel.
Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been
repainted, every statue and street and building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And that
process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an
endless present in which the Party is always right. (155)
1. According to this quote, how does the Party manipulate history?
2. Explain how the Party’s actions in 1984 parallel the actions of Germany and the Soviet Union during
Orwell’s time.
I don’t imagine that we can alter anything in our own lifetime. But one can imagine little knots of resistance
springing up here and there—small groups of people banding together, and gradually growing, and even
leaving a few records behind, so that the next generation can carry on where we leave off. (155)
3. Explain Winston’s position on attempting to overthrow the government of Ingsoc.
4. Draw a parallel between Winston’s belief and British citizens’ opinions on the strength of the “Iron
Curtain” countries in the 1940s.
Talking to her [Julia], he [Winston] realized how easy it was to present an appearance of orthodoxy while
having no grasp whatever of what orthodoxy meant. In a way, the world-view of the Party imposed itself
most successfully on people incapable of understanding it. They could be made to accept the most
flagrant violations of reality, because they never fully grasped the enormity of what was demanded of
them, and were not sufficiently interested in public events to notice what was happening. (156)
5. Explain why Julia tacitly supports many of the Party’s positions.
6. In light of this quote, describe Orwell’s probable opinion regarding the importance of countries having
an informed, educated citizenry.
Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past. (34, 248)
7. According to this quote, how does the control of information dictate how Ingsoc maintains power?
8. In light of this quote, explain Orwell’s opinion regarding the propaganda war mounted by Nazi Germany
during the 1940s.
Nineteen Eighty-Four Part Two: Chapters Seven—Eight
Literature Focus: Mood
Mood categorizes the reader’s emotional reaction or attitude toward a character, theme, or literary work
as a whole. The author’s choice of language, dialogue, foreshadowing, and details can influence a
reader’s mood toward a novel.
In 1984, Orwell creates a mood of unrest and uncertainty mired in dark times. Even though Winston and
Julia experience moments of love and kindness with each other, a sense of foreboding permeates the
novel.
Directions: For each of the following passages, cite vocabulary or details that convey the section’s mood.
After examining the passage, complete the questions about its mood.
Passage 1 Part Two: Chapter Seven, pages 162-163 in which Winston recounts the day he left his
mother and their home.
1. List at least 3 examples of vocabulary or details which convey the mood of the passage. 2. Explain how
each item influences the reader’s reaction to the text.
Ex. “precious morsel of chocolate” makes reader feel sorry for Winston and his family by conveying how
few luxuries the family had
Passage 2. Part Two: Chapter Eight, pages 168-173 in which Winston and Julia speak with O’Brien at his
home.
1. List at least 3 examples of vocabulary or details which convey the mood of the passage.
2. Describe how the passage makes you feel.
3. Using your knowledge of 1984, share how you have felt as you have read the novel. Include the
emotions and reactions you have experienced.
4. Share at least three specific aspects of the novel that have influenced your reaction, or mood, as you
have read the novel.
5. Discuss how the mood of the novel serves to transmit Orwell’s opinions on totalitarian governments; i.e.
Would Orwell have been able to convey his point as clearly if the mood of the novel had been more
upbeat? Explain.
Nineteen Eighty-Four Part Two: Chapters Nine—Ten
Literature Focus: Comparing Literary Works
In Emmanuel Goldstein’s The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism, Orwell creates a
parody—a work which satirizes an original work of art of literature—Leon Trotsky’s The Revolution
Betrayed, which was written in 1936. With Lenin, Leon Trotsky orchestrated the Social Revolution which
overthrew Stalin’s Russian government. Through his Marxist beliefs, Trotsky advocated that the working
class overthrow its oppressors to form a socialist state.
Directions: Compare and contrast excerpts of Trotsky’s The Revolution Betrayed
with passages of Orwell’s 1984.
Trotsky: Russia’s second greatest advantage is her human reservoir. Having grown almost 3,000,000 per
year, the population of the Soviet Union has apparently now passed 170,000,000. A single recruiting class
comprises about 1,300,000 men. The strictest sorting, both physical and political, would throw out not
more than 400,000. The reserves, therefore, which may be theoretically estimated at 18 to 20 million, are
practically unlimited.
Orwell: All of the disputed territories contain valuable minerals . . ., but above all they contain a
bottomless reserve of cheap labor. Whichever power controls equatorial Africa, or the countries of the
Middle East, or Southern India, or the Indonesian Archipelago, disposes also of the bodies of scores of
hundreds of millions of ill-paid and hard-working coolies. The inhabitants of these areas, reduced more or
less openly to the status of slaves, pass continually from conqueror to conqueror, and are expended like
so much coal or oil in the race to turn out more armaments, to capture more territory, to control more labor
power, to turn out more armaments, to capture more territory, and so on indefinitely. (187)
1. Similarities between the passages:
2. Differences between the passages:
Trotsky: If we leave laws and institutions aside for a moment, and take the daily life of the basic mass of
the population, and if we do not deliberately delude our minds or others’, we are compelled to
acknowledge that in life, customs, and culture the heritage of tzarist and bourgeois Russia in the Soviet
country vastly prevails over the embryonic growth of socialism. Most convincing on this subject is the
population itself, which at the least rise of the standard of living throws itself avidly upon the ready models
of the West. The young Soviet clerks, and often the workers too, try both in dress and manner to imitate
American engineers and technicians with whom they happen to come in contact in the factories. The
industrial and clerical working girls devour with their eyes the foreign lady tourist in order to capture her
modes and manners. The lucky girl who succeeds in this becomes an object of wholesale imitation.
Instead of the old bangs, the better-paid working girl acquires a “permanent wave.” The youth are eagerly
joining “Western dancing circles.” In a certain sense all this means progress, but what chiefly expresses
itself here is not the superiority of socialism over capitalism, but the prevailing of petty bourgeois culture
over patriarchal life, the city over the village, the center over the backwoods, the West over the East.
Orwell: The masses never revolt of their own accord, and they never revolt merely because they are
oppressed. Indeed, so long as they are not permitted to have standards of comparison, they never even
become aware that they are oppressed. (207)
3. Similarities between the passages:
4. Differences between the passages:
Trotsky: The promise to give the Soviet people freedom to vote “for those whom they want to elect” is
rather a poetic figure than a political formula. The Soviet people will have the right to choose their
“representatives” only from among candidates whom the central and local leaders present to them under
the flag of the party. To be sure, during the first period of the Soviet era the Bolshevik party also exercised
a monopoly. But to identify these two phenomena would be to take appearance for reality. The prohibition
of opposition parties was a temporary measure dictated by conditions of civil war, blockade, intervention
and famine. The ruling party, representing in that period a genuine organization of the proletarian
vanguard, was living a full-blooded inner life. A struggle of groups and factions to a certain degree
replaced the struggle of parties. At present, when socialism has conquered “finally and irrevocably,” the
formation of factions is punished with concentration camp or firing squad. The prohibition of other parties,
from being a temporary evil, has been erected into a principle. The right to occupy themselves with
political questions has even been withdrawn from the Communist Youth, and that at the very moment of
publication of the new constitution.
Orwell: In Oceania there is no law. Thoughts and actions which, when detected, mean certain death are
not formally forbidden, and the endless purges, arrests, tortures, imprisonments, and vaporizations are
not inflicted as punishment for crimes which have actually been committed, but are merely the wiping-out
of person who might perhaps commit a crime at some time in the future. A Party member is required to
have not only the right opinions, but the right instincts. Many of the beliefs and attitudes demanded of him
are never plainly stated, and could not be stated without laying bare the contradictions inherent in Ingsoc.
(211)
5. Similarities between the passages:
6. Differences between the passages:
7. Write a paragraph summarizing the similarities and differences between Leon
Trotsky’s The Revolution Betrayed and Emmanuel Goldstein’s The Theory and
Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism in George Orwell’s 1984.
Nineteen Eighty-Four Part Three: Chapters One—Two
Literature Focus: Literary Archetypes
Literary works frequently pattern themselves after widely-known literature, commonly-held human beliefs
or feelings, and historical models. Archetypes include a character, setting, theme, or symbol that has a
common or recognizable meaning in an entire culture. Archetypes, also called universal symbols, can
include colors, themes, familiar characters such as the villain in a black cape, or the young star-crossed
lovers, or recurring images such as a snake or a ruined tower. These archetypes add an additional layer
of meaning to a novel, and thus, allow the reader to analyze a novel in regards to the emotions and ideas
engendered in the archetypes themselves.
Directions: For each archetype, locate a passage or passages in Part Three: Chapters One—Two, and
explain how the passages exemplify the archetype. Then think of other literary examples for each
archetype. Write your answers on a separate piece of paper.
1. When describing Winston’s relationship with O’Brien in Part Three: Chapter Two, Orwell frequently
refers to the archetype of a Christian savior. On page 244, O’Brien tells Winston, “Don’t worry, Winston;
you are in my keeping. For seven years I have watched over you. Now the turning point has come. I shall
save you, I shall make you perfect.”
a. Locate and copy another passage that portrays O’Brien as a savior to Winston.
b. Explain how these passages use Christian archetypes to interpret Winston and O’Brien’s relationship.
c. Individually or as a class, list other literary works or movies that utilize Christian archetypes.
2. The telescreens throughout Oceania represent the archetypal instrument of surveillance. On p. 226,
Winston is reprimanded through the telescreen when he puts his
hands in his pockets.
a. Locate and copy another passage in which the telescreen is used to monitor and reprimand the
prisoners in the Ministry of Love.
b. Explain how these passages use the telescreen as an archetypal instrument of surveillance and
control.
c. Individually or as a class, list other literary works or movies that utilize archetypes of surveillance.
3. The government of 1984 places itself in the tradition of the literary archetype of totalitarian control.
When O’Brien compares Ingsoc’s government to that of Nazi Germany, Communist Russia, and the
Spanish Inquisition, he compares the fictional
Oceania to historical models.
a. Locate and copy a passage that portrays Ingsoc as a totalitarian society.
b. Explain how these passages use the Oceanic government as an archetypal totalitarian society.
c. Individually or as a class, list other literary works or movies that utilize archetypes of totalitarian
governments.
Nineteen Eighty-Four Part Three: Chapters Three—Four
Literature Focus: Character Development
Novels frequently place a hero as the protagonist in a novel. In 1984, Orwell chooses to portray Winston
as an anti-hero. While a hero frequently displays superior moral qualities, an anti-hero seems morally
flawed and occasionally unlikeable. Despite these less than desirable aspects of his personality, the
reader still wants Winston, the anti-hero, to succeed and triumph over the Party.
Directions: Using the clues, locate specific quotes or descriptions about Winston to show examples of his
behavior or personality throughout the novel. Be sure to include the page number after the excerpt.
Clue 1 Winston’s first experience openly rebelling against Big Brother (Pt. 1, Ch.1)
Example: His pen had slid voluptuously over the smooth paper, printing in large neat
capitals—DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER. (p. 18)
Clue 2: Winston’s modest physical appearance (Pt. 1, Ch. 1)
Clue 3: Winston takes actions that he knows will result in his arrest and death (Pt. 1, Ch.
Clue 4: Winston recognizes that his work creates an incorrect record of history (Pt. 1, Ch.
Clue 5: Winston pays a prostitute for sex (Pt. 1, Ch. 6)
Clue 6: Winston recognizes that Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford were innocent, but destroys the
evidence which would exonerate them (Pt. 1, Ch. 7)
Clue 7: Winston thinks about killing his wife, Katharine (Pt. 2, Ch. 3)
Clue 8: Winston falls in love with Julia (Pt. 2, Ch. 4)
Clue 9: Winston steals food from his mother and sister (Pt. 2, Ch. 7)
Clue 10: Winston agrees to commit violent acts in support of the Brotherhood (Pt. 2, Ch.
Clue 11: Winston does not attempt to help Julia when she is attacked by the thought police (Pt. 2, Ch.10)
Clue 12: Winston is repeatedly tortured in the Ministry of Love (Pt. 3, Ch. 2)
Clue 13: Winston does not betray Julia (Pt. 3, Ch. 4)
Clue 14: Winston refuses to fully accept the Party’s mantras (Pt. 3, Ch. 4)
*Now, use these excerpts to write a paragraph comparing and contrasting Winston’s character with that of
a typical heroic protagonist.
Nineteen Eighty-Four Part Three: Chapters Five—Six
Literature Focus: Analyzing Quotations
When writing, authors frequently compose well thought-out passages that summarize major ideas or
provide a glimpse into a character. Analyzing these passages can help the reader to grasp complexities or
nuances within the character or the novel itself.
Directions: Analyze each quotation by answering the questions that follow it. Write
your answers on a separate piece of paper.
Part One
Quote #1: Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
(81)
Quote #2: TWO AND TWO MAKE FIVE. (277)
1. Under what circumstances and in what situation does Winston think Quote #1?
2. What does the first quote symbolize to Winston?
3. Under what circumstances and in what situation does Winston think Quote #2?
4. What does the second quote symbolize to Winston?
5. Explain how the two quotes parallel Winston’s emotional journey from the beginning to the end of the
novel.
Part Two
Quote #3: Under the spreading chestnut tree; I sold you and you sold me. . . (77, 293)
6. In what situation does Winston first hear these lyrics?
7. How do the lyrics and Winston’s first hearing of them intensify his dislike of Big Brother?
8. Explain the situation in which Winston last hears these lyrics.
9. How do the lyrics relate to Julia and Winston’s relationship?
10. Explain how the quote exemplifies Winston’s experiences throughout the novel.
Part Three
Quote #4: theyll shoot me i dont care theyll shoot me in the back of the neck i don’t care down with big
brother they always shoot you in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother (19)
Quote #5: He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother. (298)
11. In what situation does Quote #4 appear?
12. When he writes the first quote, how does Winston feel about being shot by the thought police?
13. Explain the context in which Quote #5 appears.
14. When he thinks Quote #5, how does Winston feel about being shot by the thought police?
15. Explain how the quotes parallel the transition Winston undergoes in the novel.