1984 Pre-Reading guide

George Orwells classic tale of a

future world gone horribly wrong
 STOP BAD FIT
SYMBOLS
THEMES
ORGANISATION
PROGRESSION

BIG 3
ATMOSPHERE
DICTION

FIG LANG
IMAGERY
TONE
 Analysis
Orwells working title for this novel, The
Last Man in Europe, suggests that his hero,
an isolated, lonely figure, is the last believer
in the values of the past, described in the
book as pre-Revolutionary time. The
surname Smith, the most common in
England, suggests the representative quality
of the hero.
Orwell, in this extensive first chapter, begins to
unfold the nightmarish society in which Winston
lives. Throughout, Orwell writes from Winston's
perspective (though not in the first person per se), a
device which enables him to convey to the reader the
necessary information about this society while
simultaneously creating an atmosphere of
claustrophobia and oppression. Orwell's
painstakingly detailed description of Winston's
actions, thoughts and surroundings heightens the
protagonist's (and, by extension, the reader's) sense
of paranoia.
This is an unfamiliar London, part of a new world
where three powers, Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia, are
constantly entangled in a confusing eternal war where
alliances shift every few years. Oceania is divided into
provinces, one of which is Airstrip One, formerly
known as England. Through allusive details, we can see
that this society is an _allegory_ for Communist
societies, specifically Stalin's USSR: the omnipotent,
menacing, yet never-fully-explained "Party," and the
reference to the "Three-Year Plan" (an allusion to
Stalin's "Five-Year Plans"), are among these.
Irony abounds in Orwell's description of Party institutions,
notably the four Ministries of Truth, Peace, Love and
Plenty. First, there is the fact that their names run counter
to their functions: as he explains, "The Ministry of
Peace...concerned itself with war." (Similarly, the three
slogans of the Party reconcile opposites.) Second, their
names in Newspeak are "Minitrue, Minipax, Miniluv and
Miniplenty"--a joke on just how much truth, peace, love
and plenty they actually provide. Finally, there is the
quietly chilling statement that the Ministry of Love is the
most terrifying of all, giving us an inkling that "love" in
this society holds something of a different meaning than
we are accustomed to. All of this plays into a major theme
of _1984_: the _manipulation of language_. Over and
over again, we see how the Party controls language in
order to control thought.
Repetition is another device used both by Orwell and
by the Party. The Party uses repetition of rituals,
slogans and ideas to lull its members into a state of
hypnosis wherein they find comfort and solace with the
Party. Orwell uses repetition more obliquely--repeating
the Party slogans in the course of the narrative,
repeating the eerie caption "BIG BROTHER IS
WATCHING YOU" twice over the first two pages of
the chapter--to reinforce the terror of institutionalized
mass brainwashing. It even comes out in Winston's
panicked diary entries, where he finds himself
unconsciously writing "DOWN WITH BIG
BROTHER" over and over again.
 Events and Ideas that Orwell
Used As The Basis For 1984
World War II just ended and the world witnessed
horrible violence at the hands of authoritative
rulers
Russia was ruled by a dictator named Joseph
Stalin
Adolf Hitler used propaganda and race to murder
millions of Jews, Slavs, gypsies, homosexuals,
mentally ill people, and political rebels
 Events and Ideas that Orwell
Used As The Basis For 1984
Mao Tse-tung in China was fighting for
communism and when he won he began a long
oppressive totalitarian regime
There were other dictators: Francisco Franco in
Spain and Benito Mussolini in Italy
The world was going through economic reform
caused by the Great Depression and WWII
 Events and Ideas that Orwell
Used As The Basis For 1984
Orwell was a democratic socialist
Believed that the gov., not private enterprise,
should control the production and distribution
of goods
Was greatly concerned about the lives of the
poor and working class
 Technology in Orwells Time
Poison gas used as a weapon
Lie detector invented
Talking movies invented
First liquid-fuel rocket
First solo flight across the Atlantic/first flight around the world
Scientists split the atom
First computer built
Microwave oven invented
U.S. drops atomic bombs on Japan
Polaroid cameras invented
Antibiotics invented
Television invented
Radar invented
 1984: Setting and Genre
Futuristic, cautionary novel
Setting: London, in the mythical country of
Oceania, 1984 (in the future)
 Whats it about?
The world of 1984 is a negative utopia --- a dystopia.
The main character, Winston Smith, tries to rebel against
society
He begins his rebellion with the simple act of writing in
his journal --- which is punishable by death
 More
Laws are enforced by the Citizens are constantly asked
Thought Police, who to show their allegiance by
engaging in rallies and
arrest and vaporize meetings to support Big
anyone who even thinks Brother
disruptive thoughts Hatred for the enemies of Big
History is constantly Brother is encouraged through
the use of propaganda
rewritten so that the The society of Oceania is
predictions of Big Brother constantly at war with other
will never be wrong countries: Eurasia and
Eastasia --- or so Big Brother
says.
 Whats this world like?
All citizens are
monitored by
telescreens which are
present in all homes
and workplaces
The government is
represented by Big
Brother, a figure who
sees everything
 1984: Oceanias Ranks
Oceania is a huge country ruled by The Party, which
is led by a figure called Big Brother
The Inner Party (1% of pop.) control the country
The Outer Party (18% of pop.) are controlled by the
Inner Party
The Proles (81% of pop.) are the labor power who
live in poverty
The Brotherhood is an underground rebellion
organization lead by Emmanuel Goldstein
 1984: Newspeak
Newspeak is the official
language of Oceania
The goal of the Party is to have
Newspeak replace Oldspeak
(standard English)
Newspeak eliminates undesirable
words and invents new words --
all to force Party conformity
 A few terms from 1984
Doublethink the Thought crime thinking
ability to believe two anti-party thoughts
contradictory things at Inner Party/Outer party
those closest to Big
the same time
Brother and those on the
Newspeak the outside
language of Oceania Proles the lower classes
Ingsoc Oceanias who live in a separate part
form of government of the city
 Winston Smith the protagonist
A normal, insignificant, lonely man in a
world that is devoid of creativity and color
Feels that something is missing in his life
and wants to break free
Constantly paranoid that he will be
discovered and arrested for Thought Crime
Was once married
Works in the Records Department
 Themes, Symbols and Motifs
Power of Language
Illegal Love
Individuality/Freedom
of Thought and
Speech
Memory and History
Sensation Equals
Freedom
Dust
Questions to consider as you read
This novel predicted one possible future.
Are we closer to 1984 today than we were
in 1949?
How are our thoughts controlled today?
Who is Big Brother?
What are the key symbols in the novel?
In what ways are we watched and
monitored today?
 Orwellian?
This word comes directly
from Orwells writing in
1984. It carries a negative
connotation and refers to
anything involving
systematic
controlling/monitoring of
the individual. For
example, the installation of
security cameras covering
all of St Andrews School
Chapter 1