1984 Book One, Chapters 1-4: Discussion Points to Ponder

Big Brother

Goldstein

Two Minutes Hate

Youth Spies

Party slogans

Winston's diary

O'Brien

the Parsons

Thought Police

Winston's job

Oceania, Airstrip One, London

Family relationships

Junior Anti-Sex League

Newspeak

Physical Jerks

Inner Party, Outer Party, Proles

the dark-haired girl

propaganda (war film)

Oceania, Eurasia, Eastasia

Comrade Ogilvy

Writing about Writing

In his famous essay "Why I Write," George Orwell explains how he first got interested in writing, and he argues that there are four possible motivations that authors have for writing. After you have taken time to read the essay and to consider his life experiences, his philosophy on writing, and his reasons for writing, I want you to use this space to respond however you wish. You may decide to highlight interesting arguments, puzzling portions of the essay, identify relatable experiences you have had, or ask questions to which your peers and I can respond in a class discussion. You may even want to use the essay and what you know of 1984 so far to make some predictions about themes or issues in the text. My only requirement for this response is that you clearly show you have read and intellectually pondered the essay (Hint: Quoting the essay demonstrates that you have taken time to consider it in your response).

For those of you up for a challenge, consider posting an analysis of his poem that is within the essay: "A Happy Vicar I Might Have Been." This task will take some time because it requires you to do some connotative and historical research to understand the layers of meaning, but it's well worth the effort it takes!