1984 Extension Assignment
Due no later than May 18.
Choose one of the following:
Find connections between 1984 and 2012: Students will discover connections between 1984 and modern society by observing the media, newspapers, and the internet to find examples of how ideas from 1984’s society are beginning to appear today. They will bring in an example and write a summary about the connection.
Adapt 1984to 2012: Students will update and adapt aspects of the novel to today’s world. Students will respond to the questions: If Orwell were to write 1984today, what would he warn us against? How can his ideas be adapted to fit our present world? Students will be modifyingand reworking different aspects of 1984to make the novel more readily accessible to today’s readers. (Ex. goals of political platforms, security threats, technological advancements).
Evaluate propaganda techniques: Students identify different types and methodsof propaganda in Nineteen Eighty-Four (posters, telescreens, government issuedbooks and newspapers, education of youth) with different types of propagandathroughout history and today (Nazi propaganda vs. US propaganda, USpropaganda in Iraq and at home, political propaganda against politicians). Students will bring in an example of propaganda and write a summary about the technique being used.
Research historical context: Students will conduct research on the different historical contexts of 1984. Choose one of the following options and write a summary of your research explaining the ideas and events that may have influenced Orwell.
Adam Smith and capitalist theory
Karl Marx and socialist theory
Totalitarian Government
The Russian Revolution, Lenin and rise of Communism
Stalin, Trotsky and communist Soviet Union
Causes and outcomes of World War I
Hitler and the rise of Nazism
The Holocaust
The Atomic Bomb
Causes and outcomes of World War II
Winston Churchill, political beliefs and role of England in WWII
Role of the United States in World War II
“The Iron Curtain” and the beginning of the Cold War
*All written assignments must be a minimum of one page, handwritten, single spaced.
*Adjust accordingly for large handwriting, wide spaces, or broad margins.
*Effort, creativity, and adherence to the requirements will be assessed for a grade of up to 30 points.
References: McCartney, Alison. “Connecting Nineteen Eighty-Four to Today.” RoxboroughHigh School. Web.