1984 Story
Where does Winston Smith work?
Ministry of Truth
What act does Winston commit that is punishable by death?
He starts a diary
It censors the news and puts out government propaganda.
What literary device does this quote use?
"He was a lonely ghost uttering a truth that nobody would ever hear."
Metaphor - Winston writes in his journal to get his thoughts out about the party. It's an act of rebellion that could get him arrested by the Thought Police, yet he must do it in secret and no one can know about it. Thus, the narration says Winston is a ghost, directly comparing him to something dead and spectral which can be invisible to many people.
A beautiful dark-haired girl working in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth
Julia
What year was George Orwell born?
a. 1883
b. 1893
c. 1903
d. 1913
What is the first entry Winston records in his diary? What does he describe?
A scene at a theatre in which he watched war films, refugees being blown to pieces, a woman screaming that it wasn't right to show it to children
What happens when the thought police "get someone"?
They are vaporized--their entire existence is erased
London is a part of what nation in 1984?
Oceania
What literary devices is used in this quote from the book? "In this game that we're playing, we can't win."
Metaphor - Winston describes life under the Party as a game. The comparison makes life seem as though it has rules and winners and losers. This is true, however, the stakes are always high and if Winston breaks the rules, he can be arrested and killed. The line also shows how mundane such things are for the Party and how there is no remorse in it, just as though it were a game.
A mysterious, powerful, and sophisticated member of the Inner Party. Winston has a strange connection with him.
O’Brien
Eric Arthur Blaim
The war films being played at the theatre, the Victory Gin and Victory Cigarettes and the bombed out city.
If you turn your heads and look at the back wall, you are disqualified for the following question.
What are the three slogans of the Party?
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength
Miniluv, Minipax, Miniplenty and Minitrue.
What language is this?
Newspeak
What literary device is used in this quote, "Her voice seemed to stick into his brain like jagged splinters of glass."
Simile - While trying to write in his secret journal, Winston still needs to hear the voice coming through the telescreen, a combination television and camera the government uses to keep continuous tabs on everybody. The narration describes the voice coming through as being like glass, indicating the kind of extreme distraction it creates for Winston as he tries to be alone with his thoughts.
Though he never appears in the novel, and though he may not actually exist, this is the perceived ruler of Oceania, and is an extremely important figure
Big Brother
During World War II George Orwell did not serve in the military, but was involved in the war. What was his job?
Reporter
What are the devices that the Thought Police primarily use to monitor citizens of Oceania?
Telescreens
Doublethink -- DEFINE IT
The ability to hold contradictory thoughts
What literary device is used in this quote "His tiny sister, clinging to her mother with both hands, exactly like a baby monkey."
Simile - Recalling a memory of his starving sister clinging to his mother, Winston compares her to a baby monkey. The simile makes her appear not just wild but dehumanized. Winston's ability to do this to his own sister is a testament to how strongly the Party has made people not care about others or be suspicious of them to keep everyone in line through fear.
An intelligent, outgoing man who works with Winston at the Ministry of Truth. This character specializes in language. As the novel opens, he is working on a new edition of the Newspeak dictionary. Winston believes he is too intelligent to stay in the Party’s favor.
Syme
Name one other book George Orwell has written besides 1984?
Answers can include: Burmese Days, A Clergyman’s Daughter, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, Coming Up for Air, or Animal Farm.
Why does Winston despise or distrust women in general?
He believes that they swallow the Party's slogans more easily and are more accepting of Big Brother's power
What is Goldstein's story? Who is he?
He is a traitor who abandoned the Party and is now the voice of "the brotherhood". He is a scapegoat who once held almost as much power as Big Brother.
What purpose does the Ministry of Love serve? What does it ACTUALLY do?
It is a "law enforcement" ministry that engages in torture, brainwashing, executions and arrests.
What literary device is it when Orwell references "Ingsoc, Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia" to compare them to the Russian communist system, while the three states refer to the Managerial Revolution written by James Burnham and published in 1941
Allusion - reference to a famous historical or literary work. Note that allusions are dependent on the time period the book was written. Although audiences in 2023 may not know these, readers during Orwell's time would have.
An obnoxious and dull Party member who lives near Winston and works at the Ministry of Truth. He has a dull wife and a group of suspicious, ill-mannered children who are members of the Junior Spies.
Parsons
What is one of the items that is in short supply which Winston says Party Members have to acquire on the free market, demonstrating how little the Ministry of Plenty actually provides the economy?
He notes this when he's explaining how he found the book/diary in a "frowsy little junk shop".
Razor blades or shoelaces
There are two classes of people so far in the novel. Party Members and who else?
Proles
Proletariats/proletarians
Who is Goldstein an allusion to?
Leon Trotsky
What is the Two Minutes Hate and who attends?
Daily two-minutes of designated screaming and cursing at a propaganda reel of Goldstein. Party members attend.
What literary device is this quote using? "If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say this or that even, it never happened—that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture"
Personification
The leader of The Brotherhood, the resistance organization working to foment revolution against the Party. Like Big Brother, this character may be an invention.
Emmanuel Goldstein
What decade did George Orwell die in? Bonus points if you can remember the exact year.
1950 or 1950s