1984

Part One: Chapters 1-2

Irony and Motifs
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. Whereas utopian settings portray a perfect world,
dystopian societies display cultures dominated by deprivation, oppression, and terror which typically
result from corrupt or totalitarian governments. Dystopias are frequently composed as satires to warn
readers of what could occur if current conditions are stretched to frightful ends. To this end, the
author employs irony and specific motifs to set the mood of this 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: Irony

Directions: For each example below, indicate what the reader might expect and the actual
meaning or outcome in the novel so far. An example has been completed for you.

Example Expected Meaning or Outcome Actual Meaning or Outcome

I expect this to be something like a

An agency that maintains law and
Ministry of Love church or a place that people get
order through force and fear
married or findmaterial
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a place where people in the party try
I expected it would be a place where and erase history to whatever they
Ministry of Truth people confess for their crimes and find acceptable.

a place where people talk about ways a ministry in charge of keeping war
to reduce conflict. constant between neighboring
Ministry of Peace countries.

a ministry responsible for providing people ministry in charge of the economy that
Ministry of Plenty with resources to decrease poverty. rations its resources rather than provide
it for its people.

inspiring movie that shows the perseverance an extremely vile and violent movie
Film of refugees in of those who survived the war that exploits people's death into
a boat amuesement

he enjoys his jo based on its

a boring 9-5 job that entails doing the complexity and finds it exciting
Winston’s opinion same thing everyday
of his workplace

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How do the examples of irony in the chart disarm the reader and alert him/ her to the novel’s
dystopian setting?
The use of metonomy completely deviates the reader's thoughts about certain aspects of the novel
such as the Ministry of Truth and creates a whole other meaning for "truth". The dissociation of
certain words and their meanings shows how brainwashed the society is.

Part Two: Motifs

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.

Directions: Complete the bubble map below with examples of urban decay from Part One: Chapters
One and Two. Draw more bubbles if you can provide more examples. An example has been
completed for you.

Elevator seldom worked in

Victory Mansions

unreliable plumbing
electricity turned
off during the day
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the poor food Examples of URBAN streets full of dust and

DECAY torn papers

Victory Mansion
hallways were dirty
and smelled like lack of color in the
boiled cabbage streets
rundown cities and
crumbling buildings

How does 1984’s motif of urban decay act as a warning against totalitarian governments?

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1984
Part One: Chapters 3-4
Social and Historical Parallels
Authors create their works within a particular social and historical context. 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 parallel from Chapters 3 and 4. Be sure to include
the quote and page number(s) for reference. An example has been completed for you.

Historical Reference Parallel in 1984

“The two of them (Winston’s parents) must

Soviet leader Joseph Stalin purged 5-8 million
Soviet citizens during the purges of the 1930s.
Women in totalitarian cultures were frequently
viewed only in utilitarian terms of their strength
and fitness for childbearing.
evidently have been swallowed up on one of the
first great purges of the Fifties.” (29)
"As he looked at the woman in her characteristic
attitude,... it struck him for the first time that she was
beautiful. It had never before occurred to him that the body
of a woman of fifty, blown up...by childbearing"

"in the far distance there were enormous

From September 1940 to May 1941, Germany explosions
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repeatedly bombed British cities during the Blitz. about which there were wild rumours"

In August 1945, the United States dropped atomic "Perhaps it was the time when the atomic bomb
bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and had fallen on Colchester."
Nagasaki.
"Oceania was at war with Eurasia and in alliance with Eastasia. In no
During World War II, the United States and the public or private utterance was it ever admitted that the three powers had
Soviet Union fought together against the axis at any time been grouped along different lines. Actually, as Winston well
knew, it was only four years since Oceania had been at war with Eastasia
powers, until the two superpowers became and in alliance with Eurasia"
avowed enemies during the Cold War.

Some countries and schools choose not to teach

"Who controls the past controls the future: who
and discuss historical events such as the
controls
Holocaust. the present controls the past".

Since the 1940s, over twenty countries have

officially declared themselves to be socialist
states.
“It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank
During World War II, Great Britain’s Ministry of Food Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grammes a
instituted a system of food rationing. week. And only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced
that the ration was to be reduced to twenty grammes a week"

Beginning in 1933, the Ministry of Public "It was part of the economy drive in preparation
Enlightenment and Propaganda produced for Hate Week. "
posters, news reports, films, and art in Nazi
Germany.

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1984
Part One: Chapters 5-6
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 to build upon these themes throughout the book.

Directions: Complete the graphic organizer with examples of mind control and psychological
manipulation from Part One: Chapters 5-6, including how Ingsoc’s actions attempt to control and
manipulate the citizens of Airstrip One. An example has been completed for you.

rationing food and

providing standard lunches
discourages the possibility of
free choice, even if it is just
banning people from about food (50)
the need for people to look contempt
sex other than for
and happy 24/7 and they can only
child bearing and
relax their facial muscles at night
making connections
and to feel something
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the use of
telescreens and
Room 101 and torture to
thought police MIND CONTROL & those who disagree with the
making people MANIPULATION government
under constant
surveillance

the constant was

with neighboring the erasure of
countries for history for the
people to remain Party to push its
in fear and to desensitizing acts propaganda
keep the such as violence that
patriotic makes people think
violent actions are
normal so it would be
acceptable if the Party
does it

After completing the graphic organizer above, write 3-4 paragraphs about the themes of mind
control and manipulation in the novel so far on a separate piece of paper.
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1984
Part One: Chapters 7-8
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, or the meaning behind the use of the symbol in the context of
the novel.

Symbol: The Party’s history books

Passage:
“In the old days before the glorious Revolution, London was not the beautiful city that we know
today. . . When any ordinary person spoke to a capitalist he had to cringe and bow to him, and take
off his cap and address him as ‘Sir.’” (72-73)
What the Symbol Means:
The Party’s history books represent the Party’s total separation from the past. Ingsoc has set itself as a
separate society and history, not as an extension of the society from which it arose.

1. Symbol: the song about the Chestnut Tree Café

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Passage:
"Under the spreading chestnut tree/I sold you and you sold me/There lie they and here lie we/Under
the spreading chestnut tree."

What the Symbol Means:

Winston and Julia's betrayal to eachother. A cheasnut tree usually symbolizes justice and honesty,
which

2. Symbol: the room over Mr. Charrington’s shop

Passage:
“Privacy, he said, was a very valuable thing. Everyone wanted a place where they could be alone
occasionally”

What the Symbol Means:

privacy, the only place where Winston and Julia are not afraid to be together and express their
opinions and feelings

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3. Symbol: the glass paperweight
Passage:
“The coral was Julia's life and his own, fixed in a sort of eternity in the heart of the crystal”

What the Symbol Means:

the fragile relationship between Winston and Julia, as glass is easily broken and so is their
relationship if they ever get caught.

4. Symbol: the poem about St. Clement’s Church

Passage:
'Here comes a chopper to chop off your head' they brought their arms down and caught you."

What the Symbol Means:

symbolizes the totlitarianism behind Big Brother and the Party. it also highlights the brainwashing the
that goes through by desensitizing violent material

5. Symbol: the place where there is no darkness

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Passage:
"And someone sitting to one side of him had said as he passed: We shall meet in the place where
there is no darkness."

What the Symbol Means:

symbolizes room 101 and the lack of darkness that reaches distubance. The reader first thinks the
place where is no darkness is a sanctuary away from Big Brother however it turns to be the opposite
showing the subliminal
6. Symbol: the Party’s slogan
Passage:
"Big Brother is watching you"

What the Symbol Means:

the constant surveillance of big brother

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