1984 Analysis Essay
Choose one of the following essays to complete.
1. The use of archetypes helps readers understand a character or situation
without much explanation. Analyze how Julia is or is not a representation of
Eve. Discuss how her character develops, and most importantly, the
narrator’s attitude toward her character.
2. It is vitally important to the inner party that the people of Oceania be kept in
a perpetual state of paranoia. Discuss how this is achieved and, most
importantly, why it is so important to the party’s system of control.
3. George Orwell was clearly basing the totalitarian government of 1984 on the
examples set by real dictators in history. Discuss the elements and examples
of history that influenced 1984. Use specific examples from both history and
text.
4. Choose the most useful method Big Brother utilizes to keep the population
controlled and discuss why it is the most useful in comparison to the others.
Support your argument with examples from real world population control
techniques.
5. Although 1984 presents us with a bleak, dystopian vision of the future,
Orwell does seem to suggest that there is hope for humanity yet (this novel
is, after all, a warning, not a description of what already is). Analyzing ample
evidence from the text, explain what Orwell’s vision of hopes consists of, and
what, based on the depiction in the novel, is necessary for this hope to be
realized.
Things to Note:
 2-3 pages in length
 MLA Format
 Avoid 1st person point of view (You, I , We)
 Correctly punctuate quotations
 Choice of essay should be evident in your thesis statement
 Thesis must be supported with examples/evidence from texts