1984 (General)
Describe the plot of 1984.
1984 is a dystopian novel set in a totalitarian state called Oceania where the Party, lead by Big Brother, controls all aspects of the society. The book follows Winston Smith, a man who works for the Ministry of Truth, but has his own thoughts and does not support the Party. Winston falls in love with Julia and together they dream of freedom. They are eventually caught by the Thought Police, tortured, and brainwashed until Winston complete submission to Big Brother, showing the terrifying power of totalitarianism and the loss of individuality.
Describe the plot of Animal Farm.
Animals rise up against their oppressive owner, Farmer Jones, and form their own government led by animals. In the end their government turns into a government just as oppressive as the one led by humans and the pigs are indistinguishable from people. It explains the dangers of power and the difficulty to build a society with true equality.
Describe the theme of love, as it was represented in 1984.
Winston and Julia love each other and stand up against the oppressive government. This represents how in love we can find strength. However, they are eventually broken down and tortured. Additionally, the name “Big Brother” is ironic, as he is not a kind loving brother. This shows that love can be deceiving or misleading.
What is a totalitarian oligarchy?
A government that has total control and is led by a small group of people.
What is Karl Marx known for?
Marxism
Communist Manifesto
What kind of novel is 1984?
dystopian
What happened at the end of Animal Farm?
Napoleon became a dictator and the animals were indistinguishable from the people.
What was “newspeak”?
A new language with a reduced number of words that the Party is pushing onto its people.
Who was Czar Nicholas II?
Leader/ monarch of Russia during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
What kind of government did Orwell want?
When was the book, 1984, written?
1948
Why did the animals attack Farmer Jones?
He forgot to feed them and mistreated them. They were also inspired by Old Major.
How and why did the government manipulate language in the book, 1984?
The government created a new language with less words limits the ability to speak, meaning that repression will not be needed in the future since people will not be able to think differently from the State propaganda or express their disagreement.
Describe the Bolshevik Revolution.
Leftist revolutionaries, led by Bolshevik Party leader Vladimir Lenin, launched a coup d’état to take over the current government and start a Soviet government with communist ideals.
Describe the two minutes of hate from 1984. Why did the Party make its people do this?
People scream and yell at the enemies of the Party. This helps to direct the peoples anger against the Party’s enemies and away from them, keeping their control strong.
Why did Orwell write 1984?
He wrote the book to promote social ideals and warn against the dangers of dictatorships/ totalitarian oligarchies.
Describe some events from the Russian Revolution that are similar to events that happened in Animal Farm.
Farmer Jones' poor leadership
Uprising of the animals
Napoleon’s rise to power and total control of the animals
New flag representing the new government (symbol of USSR)
Why did the Ministry of Truth re-write history in 1984?
Winston and his colleagues work on re-writing and erasing history so that citizens remain ignorant and the Party is always in the right.
Describe the Russian Civil War.
Red army (Lenin’s Bolshevik government, which was basically communist) fought the white army (monarchists, democratic socialists, capitalists) to take over the Russian Empire. The Bolsheviks killed the Romanov’s in 1918 and established the Soviet Union in 1923.
Napoleon was a representation of which real life dictator?
Stalin
What kind of government was The Party?
totalitarian oligarchy
What was the main message of Animal Farm?
Power can ruin good-intentioned social movements.
Equality is difficult to achieve.
Communism, while well-intentioned, is difficult to put into practice and often leads to the rise of a new oppressive ruling class.
Describe how Orwell represented the theme of repression in 1984.
The Party maintains power by using brute force. Those who do not conform are killed (‘vaporized’) or tortured until fear prevents them from opposing the government in any way. 1984 warns us that ignoring the violent side of human nature can cost us our individual freedom.
What are the 4 steps that led to Stalin’s control of Russia? (Same four steps that led to the new government in Animal Farm)
1. Poor living conditions, poverty, unhappy citizens
2. Current government is overthrown
3. New government is established
4. Dictatorship
Which person did Old Major represent in Animal Farm? (2 answers)
Karl Marx
Vladimir Lenin