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PVPHS, McCloud … English 2 & 2 Honors … 1984

1984Discussion Questions

Part One: Ch. I – II

  1. Describe Victory Mansions. Why is the name ironic?
  1. Describe Winston Smith.
  1. What kinds of invasion of privacy exist in Oceania?
  1. What are the three slogans of the Party?
  1. What is Newspeak and what is its purpose?
  1. What are the four ministries and their purposes?
  1. What hope does Winston have about O’Brien?
  1. Who is Emmanuel Goldstein? What purpose does he serve the government? How did Winston feel toward Goldstein? In what other ways is Winston’s hate channeled?
  1. Why is it such a terrible thing for Winston to write in a diary? What does the account in his diary tell you about this society?
  1. What “thoughtcrime” did Winston commit? What happens to those arrested by the Thought Police?
  1. What amusements do the Parsons children enjoy?
  1. Why is Mrs. Parsons afraid of her own children?
  1. What had Winston dreamed seven years ago? What do you think this could mean?
  1. In Oceania’s society, the only thing that can be counted as one’s own is “a few cubic centimeters inside your skull.” To what does this refer?
  1. Why does Winston consider himself a dead man?


Part One: Ch. III – V

  1. Describe Winston’s dream about his mother. Why does the dream affect him so deeply? What do Winston’s memories of his mother symbolize?
  1. Why doesn’t tragedy exist in Winston’s world? In what way is tragedy an important part of our lives?
  1. What does the Party do with the past? What part does Winston play?
  1. How is reality control an example of doublethink?
  1. Discuss Syme’s idea that “Orthodoxy is unconsciousness” [orthodoxy = traditional or commonplace beliefs/practices]. Are there important concerns in our world to which you or other people are unconscious or oblivious?
  1. How does proletarian literature differ from that produced for Party members?
  1. Who is Comrade Ogilvy and what does he symbolize?
  1. Who is Syme? What does he enjoy doing? Why does Winston think Syme will be vaporized eventually?

Part One: Ch. VI – VIII

  1. Who is Katharine? In the Party’s estimation, what is the only purpose of sexual relations ?
  1. With whom does Winston believe hope for the future lies? Why?
  1. What small scrap of truth about the past had Winston once held in his hands?
  1. What does Winston not understand about the Party’s destruction of the past?
  1. What did Winston mean by writing “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows”?
  1. Who do you think dropped the rocket bomb? Does Winston’s reaction to the human hand lying on the pavement seem in accord with what you know so far about his character?
  1. How is the lottery in the novel 1984 similar to lotteries today?
  1. What item does Winston discover at the antique shop? Why does it appeal to him?
  1. What is so appealing about the room above the shop?
  1. Why is Winston fascinated with the proprietor’s rhyme about the church bells?


Part Two: Ch. I-III

  1. Why was Winston’s concern for Julia a “curious emotion”?
  1. Do you think Winston’s immediate trust of Julia is foolish? Is it justified?
  1. Why is it so difficult for Winston to get in touch with Julia after he receives her note? Why doesn’t he just talk to her?
  1. To where did Winston finally receive directions for a meeting place from Julia?
  1. Re-read the first paragraph of Part Two, chapter II. How has the tone changed?
  1. Why do you think Winston admits his age, his wife, his varicose veins, and his false teeth to Julia?
  1. Why do you think Winston has little physical desire for Julia in the beginning?
  1. How is Julia different from the orthodox Party member Winston had thought she was?
  1. Winston “stopped thinking and merely felt.” How is this reaction out of character for him?
  1. Why do you think Winston likes (or loves) Julia?
  1. Why is their final embrace “a political act” for Winston and Julia?
  1. How far does Julia’s interest in Party doctrine go?
  1. How does Julia explain the Party’s sexual Puritanism?

Part Two: Ch. IV-VII

  1. Do you think Julia is good for Winston? How has she changed him?
  1. What surprises does Julia have for Winston in chapter IV? What does Winston’s delight over these everyday items indicate about the news the Ministry of Plenty circulates?
  1. How is the room over Mr. Charrington’s different from Winston’s apartment? What is one thing about it that Winston doesn’t like? (Hint: What fear of his is revealed in chapter IV?)
  1. Reread the words to the song the prole woman sings in chapter IV. Why are they significant? Why is her singing significant? How might the song’s title, “Only a Hopeless Fancy,” be a form of foreshadowing?
  1. What is the significance of the coral in the glass globe?
  1. Discuss the quote: “The room was a world, a pocket of the past where extinct animals could walk.”
  1. From his dream in chapter VII, what do we learn about Winston’s childhood, in particular about his mother?
  1. To what are the proles loyal? In what “condition” have they remained?
  1. What does Winston decide are the only things that matter? If confession would not be betrayal, what would be? What would this betrayal prove?
  1. What art does Winston believe the Party has not yet mastered?
  1. Winston thinks, “They could not alter your feelings; for that matter, you could not alter them yourself, even if you wanted to.” Discuss the nature of feelings and emotions. Can you alter your own feelings by force of will? Can someone else alter another person’s innermost feelings?


Part Two: Ch. VIII – X

  1. Notice the differences between O’Brien’s home and Winston’s. What does this signify?
  1. What is the purpose of O’Brien’s demands that Julia and Winston agree to do so many unconscionable things if they are asked? What won’t they do?
  1. Describe Hate Week. What is its purpose?
  1. What is the book? Who is its author? Why does Winston have it?

Goldstein’s Book: Chapter IX Questions/Fill in the blanks

  1. What are the 3 superstates of the world in 1984?
  1. The superstates, in some combination of 2-against-1, are always at ______.
  1. The economic purpose of the ongoing war is a war for ______.
  1. War uses up ______and leaves little for civilians; this is important, because an increase in ______poses a ______to the social hierarchy.
  1. What is “oligarchal collectivism”?
  1. What does the Party aim to extinguish?
  1. Why is no contact with foreigners allowed?
  1. What are the groups of society, and what percent of the population is each group?
  1. Do the 3 groups of society have similar aims? Why or why not?
  1. Why is it important that the masses never realize they are oppressed?
  1. What happens to intelligent proles? What happens to the remaining proles?
  1. Describe the differences between the Inner and Outer Parties.

Chapter X

  1. What question still remains in Winston’s mind after he closes the book?
  1. How is the smashing of the paperweight symbolic?

Part Three: Ch. I – III

  1. Describe Winston’s cell.
  1. Winston does not know how long he has been in the cell or what time of day or night it is. What is the purpose of keeping him uninformed?
  1. What do you think happens in Room 101?
  1. Did O’Brien come to Winston’s cell to save him? What do we now know about O’Brien?
  1. What is the purpose of all the beatings Winston endures? Does it work?
  1. Who does Winston feel is directing his torture? Does he hate him for this?
  1. What torture method does O’Brien use to try to get Winston’s mind to submit to him? What one thing has Winston not done yet?
  1. O’Brien eventually gets Winston to believe that his four fingers are five. What has O’Brien proven? What does this mean when we look back at Winston’s earlier diary entry that “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two makes four. If that is granted, all else follows”?
  1. When will O’Brien consider Winston “cured”?
  1. Where does O’Brien think reality exists?
  1. Winston tells O’Brien that a civilization founded on fear, hatred, and cruelty cannot endure. Do you agree with Winston or O’Brien? What should a civilization be founded upon?
  1. Why does Winston consider himself “morally superior”?
  1. To what one event is Winston looking forward? Why hasn’t this happened yet?
  1. At the end of chapter III, O’Brien is still not satisfied with Winston. Why?
  1. According to O’Brien, why does the Party want power?


Part Three: Ch. IV – VI

  1. As Winston is allowed to heal, he escapes into his dreams. From the subjects of his dreams, what do you know is still left in Winston?
  1. What does Winston wake up shouting? Why did this horrify him?
  1. How has Winston “retreated a step further”? What has he realized about his secrets?
  1. What, now, is Winston’s definition of “freedom”?
  1. What happens in Room 101? Why is it significant?
  1. Are you surprised that Winston is let out of prison? Why do you think O’Brien doesn’t have him shot? Could it still happen?
  1. How has Winston’s life changed?
  1. What does Winston now do with his memories?
  1. What is the “final, indispensable, healing change”? Is this really a “victory” for him, as he thinks? What will happen to him now?