Muzaurieta, Guided reading questions
1984, Book Two, Chapter 9, The Book (184-217)
Directions:
As you read, look for the passages that provide the answers to the following questions. Then, read my answers;
I paraphrase and/or quote the text to answer the questions as clearly as possible. Page numbers are provided for some questions to help you situate yourself at the right starting point for an answer in the text; but that page may not have the whole answer to the question.
Try to stay focused and take your time. You will need to read these pages slowly and carefully; reading aloud may help, as will a dictionary. Plan on reading more than twice, too. This is probably the hardest reading you have done all year. Don’t rush it.
1.
Why does Orwell include detailed passages from Goldstein’s Book in 1984?
To make his political message clear; to stress that this is important; to create a pause in the story; to connect to the real world; this is a reason for Winston’s arrest; explains the “how” of the world
2.
What is the purpose of war in the world of 1984? What is not the purpose? (185)
Supposedly for moral reasons. Partly for cheap labor and natural resources, but REAL reason is to preserve the power of the
High. How? By using up “the products of the machine without raising the general standard of living” (188) (modern technology can pretty much make everything anybody wants – but then everybody would be wealthy, and the High would no longer be able to hold onto their powerful position), thereby keeping many people in poverty AND because war justifies the High’s power (the people are afraid of the danger so they are more willing to accept that a few people need to be in charge to protect them) AND because the war makes it psychologically acceptable for the High to rationalize the power they hold on to (remember, via doublethink, they
‘forget’ the truth.)
The purpose is not moral reasons or to take over the world, although the High leaders claim this is true.
3.
What are the two aims (goals) of the Party? (193)
1. To conquer the whole world (although they know this is virtually impossible) and 2. to squash any possibility of independent thought or rebellion (so they can stay in power)
4.
What are the two problems with which the Party is therefore concerned? (193)
1. To kill several hundred million people in seconds with no warning and 2. to discover what another person is thinking. These would enable their success with the #4 goals.
5.
Why do all three superpowers forbid their citizens from associating with foreigners? (196)
To restrict information, lest they find out the others are just like them
6.
The governments of the three superpowers are alike in essence even though their forms of government have different names. Identify these similarities and explain why they exist? (196)
“Everywhere there is the same pyramidal structure, the same worship of a semi-divine leader, the same economy existing by and for continuous warfare…[they] not only cannot conquer one another…[but] hold each other up like three sheaves of corn” (197)
Note that when war became continuous and impossible to win, they no longer needed technological development or an understanding of the past. Previous High groups had to pay attention to historical lessons and science had to continue to develop, but
in 1984, efficiency and knowledge are immaterial.
7.
What is the real “war” fought in each of the three governments? Your answer will explain the party slogan,
“War is Peace.” (197)
“The war…is merely an imposture…But though it is unreal it is not meaningless. It eats up the surplus of consumable goods, and it helps to preserve the special mental atmosphere that a hierarchical society needs. War, it will be seen, is now purely an
The Book Answer Key 1

internal affair… The war is waged by each ruling group against its own subjects, and the object of the war
is not to make or prevent conquests of territory, but to keep the structure of society intact.” (199)
Because ongoing war helps the Party to maintain the status quo, war helps keep the peace, so WAR IS PEACE.
8.
Notice that Orwell repeats the first paragraph of The Book on p. 184 and p. 201. Why might Orwell repeat this section in that way (for what purpose)?
To establish the 3 classes before he discusses war; to create suspense, to create a false sense of security because Winston feels safe
9.
What three classes of people have always existed? To what extent have they changed? (201)
High, Middle, Low. They have had different names, proportions and attitudes, but societal structure has never changed
10.
What are the aims (goals) of the three groups? (201)
High – to stay in power. Middle – to change places with high. Low – create equal society.
High stays in power until Middle employs Low to overthrow High, then Middle abandons Low and takes over as new High, eventually a new Middle arises
11.
What changes in the pattern occurred in the nineteenth century? (202)
This pattern had become so obvious that some people said inequality was “the unalterable law of human life” (202). The High had always claimed this, but now the Middle, looking forward to getting power, was saying the same thing and abandoning their claims that they were fighting for brotherhood, etc.
12.
How did socialism change in the twentieth century? (202)
“…from about 1900 onwards the aim of establishing liberty and equality was more and more openly abandoned. The new movements which appeared in the middle years of the century, Ingsoc in Oceania, Neo-Bolshevism in Eurasia, Death-Worship as it
is commonly called, in Eastasia, had the conscious aim of perpetuating unfreedom and inequality…purpose of all of them was to arrest progress and freeze history…” (203)
This happened, he claims, because class distinctions were not really necessary anymore – that is, people might have to do different jobs, but all could live at the same standard of living (leading back to the end of the High’s power, remember) and so freedom became something dangerous, something to be avoided.
13.
Why are the rulers in the twentieth century better at maintaining power than earlier tyrants? (202)
They are less tempted by luxury, less avaricious, & hungrier for pure power; they are more conscious of and intent on crushing opposition. Where previous leaders were too “liberal” because they ignored their subjects’ thinking, new leaders have better control methods; they are aware of historical knowledge and use it to their advantage as they design propaganda and use technology for surveillance.
14.
What are the four ways an elite group falls from power? (207) a. conquered from without (by outside power) b. inefficient government  masses (lower class) rise up in revolt c. it allows a strong discontented middle class to develop d. government loses self-confidence and willingness to govern
15.
How does the Inner Party make certain it will not fall from power? (207)
They have systematically removed the possibility of the 4 ways named in #14. Subjects are brainwashed. The Inner Party controls education and the release of information, including changing records to suit themselves, so people have no basis for comparison. (Also see #19.) They use the godlike figure of Big Brother, who is the infallible source of everything good and who inspires love, reverence, and fear. They use harsh methods of control, including technology. The lower classes cannot revolt—they are watched too closely. Finally, the three superpowers are so evenly matched that they will never be conquered.
The Book Answer Key 2

16.
How is a person’s class determined in the 1984 world? How does this maintain the status quo? (208)
Partly by birth (proles) and partly by test (party members). How is this better for maintaining the status quo? This method favors those who are well-suited while weeding out those too weak to rule; leaders who inherit their power in other systems are often poor leaders. This system can last indefinitely—it does not depend on offspring or elections. Finally, it seems fair but is actually divisive, keeping the lower classes in their place.
17.
What is doublethink and what is its purpose to the ruling class? (210)
The ability to simultaneously and fervently believe two opposing ideas at the same time. Doublethink allows party members to
“forget” information which might undermine their belief in the wisdom of the Party. (Note: this can be connected to willful ignorance.) Symes declared that :orthodoxy is unconsciousness.”
18.
Why is the mutability of the past important to the ruling class? (212)
Changing the past allows them to rewrite events to favor the party at all times. Changing the past also takes away the people’s frame of reference—they cannot study any other time or system when things were different…causing them to lose sight of the
possibility that it could be different.
Who controls the past, controls the future. Who controls the present, controls the past.
19.
Why will this ruling class live on while earlier tyrants fell? (215)
Because they guarantee the survival of the Party, not of individual leaders or specific people; power is passed to the most able, rather than by inheritance. (See also #15). They have learned from the past—in which earlier tyrants were ossified or too liberal.
This ruling class creates its own reality.
20.
What other significant points do you notice?
Facts about population (208) and geography (187)are important to note.
Total population of Oceania:
Percentage of High: Inner 2% Population:
300 million
6 million
Percentage of Middle: Outer 13% Population: 39 million
Proles 85% Population: 255 million Percentage of Low:
World map of superpower control & the parallelogram of fighting:
 Eurasia – vast land spaces
 Oceania – Atlantic & Pacific oceans
 Eastasia – many hardworking people
 Quadrilateral – Tangier, Brazzaville, Darwin and Hong Kong; area has vast natural resources & has 20% world population used as slave labor
The Book Answer Key 3

Tangier – where Morocco touches Spain
Brazzaville – near coast of Congo, little J-shaped country
Hong Kong – inlet just west of Taiwan
Darwin – top west edge of center peak of Australia
The Book Answer Key 4