English a level - AO5&3 1984

content for context and literary criticism

describe the context of Orwell’s early life

he was born "‘Eric Blair’ in 1903 in Bengal, and moved to England a year later. His father retired to be with his family, but moved away as an officer for the great war in 1917

attended St Crypian’s boarding school, and his experiences of punishment and emotional manipulation there provided a model for Winston’s “re-education” in 1984

describe the influence of propaganda on Orwell’s writing

during WWII, Orwell worked for the homes guard as a radio writer and producer. His wife worked in the government censorship department. These provided inspiration for the fictional Ministry of Truth

Orwell was concerned about the positive view of the USSR in English media after 1941, influencing Oceania’s swift change of allies

Describe Orwell’s experience of the Spanish civil war

he fought for the republicans and was shot by a fascist sniper in 1937. However, he realise that the left was just as dangerous as the right as many of the Spanish communists began to turn on their former allies

when he retuned to the UK, media would only support the republican side and refused to publish his eyewitness statement

what did Orwell believe regarding political structures and equality

he was a socialist, and believed that only through the state taking the wealth and power of the ruling class and redistributing it could society become equal and just

he believed that capitalism was dangerous because it could easily mutate into fascism

criticized the communist belief that the intellectual elite should govern

list the 3 most significant literary influences on 1984 and briefly summarise each one

When the Sleeper Wakes, written by H.G. Wells in 1899, set in a centrally controlled state in the year 2100

We, written by Zamyatin in 1924, praised by Orwell for its “intuitive grasp of the irrational side of totalitarianism,” and the first dystopian criticism of the future of the USSR. the plot involves a main character who keeps a diary to maintain his sense of individuality

Brave New World, written by Huxley in 1931, involves “solidarity service” which is similar to a two minutes hate

2 quotes from Berkes

“language becomes a mind-control tool”

the role of Newspeak is to “restrict understanding of the real world”

quote from Newsinger (2018)

Orwell is “unfortunately one of those male socialists who were opposed to every oppression, except that of women”

2 quotes from ‘Two different kinds of dystopia’ by O’Duffy

a narrator who doesn’t know it all “underlines the unpredictability of the dystopian world”

“While the characters in The Handmaid’s Tale have little hope to dwell on, they are at least able to dwell on it”

2 quotes from Webster

“the seeds of unthinking conformity are everywhere”

“it is through the destruction of language that the individual’s ability to think independently is eroded”

2 quotes from ‘Dystopian dust - a mote to trouble in the mind’s eye’ by Smithers

“no matter the man or the institution, all will turn to dust”

“the relationship that indicts both of them, is one that is mired in dust: surrounded in death”

quote from genesis 3:19 about dust

“for dust thou art, and shalt to dust return”

3 quotes from Howell

“linguistic manipulation is fundamental to the society’s creation of a population which is complicit in its own oppression”

“Orwell suggests that people can… come to accept even that which they know to be untrue”

through the appendix, “Orwell expresses some optimism of the possibilities of resistance”

quote from Orwell on his socialism

“I became pro-socialist more out of disgust with the way the poorer section of the industrial workers were oppressed”

quote from Orwell on collectivism

“collectivism leads to concentration camps, leader worship, and war”

quote from Orwell showing pessimism, written in a letter to a friend

“each winter I find it harder and harder to believe that spring will come”

when was Stalin the Soviet leader

1929-1953

what was the Great Purge? how did this influence ‘1984’?

a period within 1930s Soviet Russia where an estimated 600,000 citizens were executed for treason as a result of Stalin’s paranoia, including many old Bolsheviks

inspired the idea of being “vaporised” in ‘1984’

2 quotes from Berggren

“Winston is a victim of a totalitarian structure which he cannot escape”

“Big Brother in Oceania affects the behaviour of the observed at all times”

example of a critic who draws a parallel between Big Brother and Stalin

Lynch

quote from Daniel Bell

1984 shows “a human society stripped of the last shreds of community”

George Woodcock quote

O’Brien is “an extreme and monstrous form of the pretensions of all men in power”

Harris quote

“only through love and marriage Orwell suggests, can the person remain a person”

quote from Michea

“1984 is apparently the story of a failure”

2 quotes from Kristoffer Rissanen

“Winston’s rebellion has been planted in his mind by the party”

“the party uses hate to keep itself in power”

quote from Crick

“it is not a prophecy, it is plainly satire”

quote from Jeffery Meyers

1984 is a “naturalistic portrayal of the present and the past”

quote from Orwell on truth in Nazi Germany

“Nazi theory indeed specifically denies that such a thing as ‘the truth’ exists”

quote from Patricia Hill

“there is only room for one God in Oceania, and his name is Big Brother”

quote from January

“Winston is destroyed by his search for inherently human feelings”

when was the Russian revolution and when was the USSR established

1917, 1922

when did Hitler become Chancellor of Germany

1933, and then declared himself Fuhrer by 1934

when did Dachau - the first Nazi concentration camp - open?

1933

what was the Age of Austerity

the period in Britain following WWII where war rationing was continued because of the lack of raw materials and food, and the end of the British Empire meant Britain could not economically compete with the USA anymore

how is the lower class of ‘1984’ being called the “proletariat” contextually significant?

in the communist manifesto, Marx describes the working class under capitalism as the “proletariat.”

“IngSoc” has inherently failed as this class divide persists under a socialist regime

what are USSR Gulags

the system of Soviet labour camps that ran from the 1920s to the mid 50s

what is ‘socialist realism’

the USSR’s control of all art and literature

which political figure did Stalin alter Communist Party history to wipe out

Trotsky

quote from Greenwald

“surveillance breeds conformity”

quote from Jordison

1984 includes “suberb political analysis”