PART II: Chapter I – Discussion Questions:
1) What is written on the piece of paper the girl gives Winston at work?
2) What are the two possibilities Winston believes are behind the piece of paper?
3) Winton considers how to meet with the girl. What are two ideas he dismisses and what does he finally decide to do?
4) How long does it take Winston to talk to the girl?
5) Where do they meet?
6) Who is in control of their meetings? Give evidence.
7) Go to the 1984-Media section of the website (or google and find your own). Choose one of the links and make a connection to any part of the novel you have read so far.
PART II: Chapter II – Discussion Questions:
1) When Julia asks Winston what he thought of her before that day, how does he respond?
2) What does Julia rip off her body?
3) Where did Julia get the chocolate?
4) At the top of page 130 a thrush appears. Orwell describes the thrush in detail. What do you think the thrush symbolizes? (there are multiple answers)
5) What does Julia say when Winston asks, “have you done this before?”
6) Why is Winston so happy about her response?
7) In the context of the story, explain why Winston says” “I have purity, I have goodness! I don’t want any virtue to exist anywhere. I want everyone to be corrupt to the bones.”
8) Write a short (100 word) response explaining the last 3 sentences of this chapter.
PART II: Chapter III – Discussion Questions:
1) Julia and Winston have very little time to meet. What keeps Julia so busy and why does she do it?
2) Choose 5 powerful descriptive adjectives (use a thesaurus) that describe Julia. Provide evidence to support your choice and a page # for each choice. Please submit using the following format:
3) Describe Pornosec?
4) When did Julia have her first love affair?
5) What does Julia think of the Brotherhood?
6) What is ‘goodthinkful”?
7) What does Julia mean when she says “All this marching up and down and cheering and waving flags is simply sex gone sour.” (p.139)
ADDITION: Read the article in the following link:Article
In a 300 word multi-paragraph response: a) Summarize the author’s findings. b) Using examples of literature you have read, discuss connections you have made to your own life.
PART II: Chapter IV – Discussion Questions:
1) Who is Mr. Charrington and where do Julia and Winston now meet?
2) What is a “versificator”? (p145)
3) Julia shows up with groceries. Where did she get them?
4) What does Julia talk about that horrifies Winston?
5) Describe the paperweight (p152). Why does Winston like it? How is the paperweight like a metaphor for their relationship? (p154)
6) Nursery rhymes are mentioned throughout the novel. Write two verses of a nursery rhyme you sang as a child. Google the song and write a few notes about the origins. What is Orwell pointing out by mentioning nursery rhymes so often? (Hint: Inner and Outer party members are not allowed to sing these songs.)
PART II: Chapter V- Discussion Questions:
1) Describe some of the details of Syme’s disappearance?
2) List 5 non-violent preparations being made for Hate Week.
3) List 3 acts of violence likely engineered by the Party for Hate Week.
4) List 4-5 things Julia believes that surprises Winston? (p160-61)
5) Go back to Part II, Number 2. Add 5 more adjectives to your list, based on this chapter.
6) What does Winston mean when he says, “You’re only a rebel from the waist downwards.” (p163)
7) Go to the 1984-Media section of the website (or google and find your own). Choose one of the links and make a connection to any part of the novel you have read so far.
PART II: Chapter VI – Discussion Questions:
1) Under what pretense are Winston and O’brien meeting?
2) What changes have been made to the 10thEdition of Newspeak? What might the Party’s motive be in making this particular change?
3) Choose one or two lines that attracted your attention. Discuss why.
PART II: Chapter VII – Discussion Questions:
1) When Winston thinks back to his childhood, how did he behave towards his mother and sister? Provide details.
2) What happens to his mother and sister?
3) What does Winston mean when he says, “The proles had stayed human”? (p.172)
4) Re-read from the last paragraph of page 173 to the end of the chapter on page 174. Use a sticky note to tag this part; it will become important later in the book. What do Julia and Winston believe the Party will never be able to do?
5) Choose one or two lines that attracted your attention. Discuss why.
PART II: Chapter VIII – Discussion Questions:
1) How is O’Brien’s room different from Winston’s flat? Give details.
2) To whom do they raise their wine glasses?
3) State two things Julia and Winston are willing to do for the Party.
4) What does Julia say she willnotdo?
5) Who wrote thebookO’brien promises to send Winston?
6) Choose one or two lines that attracted your attention. Discuss why.
7) If you had to choose a character in the novel that most closely resembles how you see yourself in relation to the world, who would it be. In 100-200 words, justify this choice using examples from your life.
PART II: Chapter IX – Discussion Questions
1) What do the crowds do, specifically, when they are told that Oceania is not at war with Eurasia, but is at war with Eastasia?
2) Describe what the employees at the Record Department have to do with this new information?
3) What is an oligarchy?
4) Who is the author of thebook?
TheBook:(Remember when you are reading this challenging part of the book, that it is describing the years leading up to and including
Winston’s world in 1984 and not our world today.)
5) What is a hierarchy?
p.193 What countries comprise the three super-states? (p193) Find a picture of the territories on the internet to help you visualize.
6) How long have the super-states been at war? (p193)
7) What are the 3 things that make this war different from others in the past? (p193)
8) Where does the fight take place? Are there many casualties? (p193)
9) Create your own list of 10 legitimate reasons why human beings have fought wars. Be specific – money is not specific. (Collaborate with your classmates).
10) Thebookstates that “None of the three super-states could be definitively conquered even by the other two in combination. Give details to explain why. (p 194)
11) According to thebook, is theeconomicpurpose of the war? (p194)
12) Why do the states want to control Africa, the Middle East, Southern India and Indonesia? Explain. (p195)
13) Thebookstates that “the labor of the exploited people around the Equator is not really necessary to the world’s economy.” If so, then why capture them at all? (p196)
14) Whatisthe purpose of war? Why? Explain in a paragraph or note form. (p196)
15) Explain how the following quote relates to the aim of the Inner Party: “But it was clear that an all round increase in wealth threatened the destruction-indeed, in some sense was the destruction-of a hierarchical society.” (p197)
16) According to thebook, what happens if leisure and security are enjoyed by all alike? (p198)
17) According to thebook, a hierarchical society was only possible based on what? (p198)
18) According to thebook,how do you “keep the wheels of industry turning without increasing the real wealth of the world? (p198)
19) According to thebook,what is the essential act of war? (p198)
20) According to thebook, why is the manufacturing of weapons convenient? (p199)
21) According to thebook,what important reason does the state have fornotordering its citizens to build pyramids or temples instead of weapons if the aim is just to keep them busy? Whose morale is most important? (p200)
22) According to thebookwhere is the hysteria and hatred of the enemy strongest? How does what you’ve learned about doublethink relate to this? (p200)
23) What is one of the few remaining activities for an inventive mind? (p201)
24) What are the two aims of the Party? (p201)
25) What are the two great problems for the Party to overcome? (p201)
26) Read page 204 carefully. In a paragraph, explain why no invasion of enemy territory is ever undertaken? (p204)
27) What 3 aspects of a social system is similar to all three super-states? (p205)
28) “The ruling groups of all three powers are simultaneously aware and unaware of what they are doing. Their lives are dedicated to world conquest, but they also know that it is necessary that the war should continue everlastingly and without victory.” (No question here – just wanted to point out how cool and strange and awful those statements are.)
29) According to thebook, what is the object of war? (p207)
30) According thebook, what are the three kinds of people in the world, what are their aims and what eventually happens to them? (p209-10)
31) According thebook,what are the only four ways in which a ruling group can fall from power? (p215)-
32) According thebook,what is the function of Big Brother? (p216-
33) According thebook, what is the essence of oligarchical rule? (p218)
34) What is “crimestop”? (p220-21)
35) According thebook,why is the alteration of the past necessary? (p221)
36) Try, to the best of your ability, to explain doublethink in your own words. Try coming up with your own example. (p223)
37) List at least 5 examples of contradictions or doublethink used by the party. (p225)
38) According thebook, what is the prevailing mental condition of the High? (p225)
PART II: Chapter X – Discussion Questions:
1) Where does the voice “You are the dead” come from?
2) What happens to the paperweight? How is this symbolic of Julia and Winston’s story?
3) What does Charrington turn out to be?