1984 Study Guide

The novel begins (date)

1984

The novel begins (place)

Oceania

The official language of Oceania

Newspeak

the captions of the posters in Winston's building

Big Brother is Watching You

what the government uses to watch people, receives and transmits

telescreen

the Party's three slogans

War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength

name of the 4 ministries of government

truth, love, peace, plenty

purpose of the Two Minutes of Hate

Hatred of Goldstein, thankful for Big Brother

any thought thats not controlled by government

thoughtcrime

penalty for thoughtcrime

thought police will erase all evidence that you ever existed

form of address that replaced Mrs

Comrade

the game the Parson's children are playing

pretending to be thought police and kill someone

the crime the children accuse Winston of

thoughtcrime, traitor and spy

the popular event took place in the afternoon

hanging of the Eurasian prisoners

kid who rats out their parents to the thought police

child hero

the person who speaks in Winston's dream

O'Brien

what O'Brien tells Winston

that they should meet in the place where there is no darkness

the bad news delivered by the telescreen

universal chocolate ration was being reduced

who Winston addresses his diary to

the future or past

why Winston washes his hands before returning to work

he doesn't want people to know he is writing in a diary

how old Winston was when his mother disappeared

ten or eleven

the only thing Winston remembers about his father

the thin soles of his shoes

what Winston thinks has happened to his parents

that they were swallowed up in one of the first great purges in the 50's

where Winston's mother and sister are in his dream

in some underground place, the bottom of a well, or a very deep grave

the person who appears in Winston's second dream

the worker with dark hair

what Winston is muttering as he wakes up

Shakespeare

the city that used to be called England

Airstrip One

Who Oceania is at war with at the beginning of the novel

Eurasia

the party slogan

"Who controls the past controls the future and who controls the present controls the past"

totalitarian government

Ingsoc

official phrase for altering records

rectify

the primary job of the MInistry of Truth

correct history to match what the government wants people to believe

type of pornography

pornosec

Winston's greatest pleasure in life

Winston's work

a person that Winston invented and made up

Comrade Oglivy

Syme's current project at the Records Department

making the 11th edition of the Newspeak dictionary

the aim of Newspeak, according to Syme

to destroy language, to narrow the thoughts that people could have

what Syme predicts will occur by 2050

the dictionary wont have any words that will be obsolete

why Winston believes Syme will disappear one day

because he is too smart

who Winston believes is following him

the dark-haired girl

What does Winston believe is the most deadly danger of all

talking in your sleep

What is the unforgivable crime

Sex between Party members

What is the only recognized purpose of marriage

Beget children for the service of the Party

Why did Winston call Katharine the "human soundtrack"

Her thoughts were all thoughts that the party fed her, she never had an original thought in her mind.

Why does Winston believe a real love affair would be almost unthinkable

The women of the Party were all alike and he did not like that

What percent of Oceania's population is comprised of proles

85%

What does Winston copy into his diary

An entry from a history textbook

What is Winston's proof that the confessions of Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford were lies

There's a photograph which shows the three members of the Party in New York when they were supposed to be in Eurasia committing treason

What happened to Winston's proof

He was so scared he destroyed it, but he will never forget the image or the Party's dishonesty

To whom is Winston writing the diary

To the past or to the future

What is "ownlife"?

it means "individualism and eccentricity"

Why does Winston want to talk to a prole?

He tries to figure out that, in the days before the Party, whether or not people were happier

What's a "lackey"?

A lackey is what the proles call the outer Party members. It is like calling them henchman.

Why is Winston disappointed with the old prole?

The prole didn't have the critical thinking skills necessary to answer Winston's question of how life was like before the revolution, so he was upset.

Why is Winston afraid to enter the junk shop?

That's where he bought the diary and he didn't want the Thought Police to be suspicious of him.

What did Winston think of the room above the junk shop?

It made him nostalgic about the past, as if he knew a life where a room like this existed

Who did he see outside the shop?

The dark haired girl

What does he think about as a solution to his problem?

He should hit her with a cobblestone or a paper weight in his pocket, then he goes home and thinks he should commit suicide before the Party catches him, they will torture him before they kill him

What does Winston think "the place where there is no darkness" is?

He thinks it's the imagined future

How much time has passed since Winston spotted the girl from the Fiction Department outside the junk shop?

4 days

What conflicting emotions does Winston feel before helping the girl?

His instinct was to help her but since he thought she was going to kill him he didn't want to. He ends up helping her.

Give the possible sources of the note.

"So far he could see there were two possibilities. One, much more likely, was that the girl was an agent of the Thought Police, just as he feared.....But there was another, wilder possibility that kept raising his head..This was, that the message did not come from the Thought Police at all, but from some kind of underground organization. Perhaps the Brotherhood existed after all!"

Give the message on the note.

"I love you"

Tell why Winston no longer believes the girl is an enemy.

"The unmistakable agitation when she handed him the note" (109)

so the feelings she showed when she handed him the note? which is sort of defying the party?

Kinda. She was scared of being caught by the Party and she shows her fear when she hands him the note.

Where do Winston and the girl plan to meet?

Victory Square, they can hide from the telescreens in the crowd

Tell what Winston and the girl witness in the square

A group of Eurasion prisoners be tortured by a crowd of people

When and where will the couple meet again?

"Paddington Station........(read the quote, she gives him a lot of directions which I'm not typing out)" (115) -a train from Paddington Station to the countryside

What emotion prevails when Party members see foreigners?

They act as if foreigners are a kind of strange animals

What does the girl do right before she leaves?

She manages to hold his hand briefly

Tell why a person is no safer in the countryside than in London.

There might be microphones hidden in the bushes

What does Winston confess?

He hated the sight of her

What is Winston's immediate feeling as he holds Julia in his arms?

He felt nothing.

What is Winston's idea of a love offering?

"It was even a sort of love offering to start off by telling the worst." (120)

What is the emblem of the Junior Anti-Sex League?

Scarlet sash

Where did Julia obtain the chocolate?

Black market

What has attracted Julia to Winston?

"It was something in your face. I thought I'd take a chance. I'm good at spotting people who don't belong. As soon as I saw you, I knew you were against them." (122), she likes the fact Winston is against the party

Why is Winston shocked at the coarseness of Julia's language?

Party members weren't supposed to swear and even he didn't really swear.

What is Julia's feeling about her many other lovers?

Ok so I'm not sure about this but it seems like she doesn't really have any feelings for the others...seems like she just did it for sex...

What is the one act of rebellion that could ruin the Party?

We aren't sure but we think it's the fact that Winston and Julia have feelings that aren't just hate/fear, evidence can be found in the last paragraph on page

Tell why Winston does not need to know Julia's surname or address.

It doesn't matter because they could never meet indoors or exchange any type of written communication or else the thought police will get them.

What does Julia mean by "talking in installments"?

They would talk, then they may have to stop talking in the middle of a sentence, then next time they would just finish that sentence.

How does Julia spend much of her free time?

She went to demonstrations/ lectures for the Junior Anti-Sex League and she handed out pamphlets

What does Julia do at the Fiction Department?

Works with the novel writing machine

What special job was Julia selected for at work?

She worked in with pornosec (defined in another questions above, look for it)

What is Julia's only interest in Party doctrine?

She is only interested in it when the doctrine touches upon her own life

Give Julia's opinion of revolt against the Party.

She is not interested in a full rebellion, she just likes to outwit the party and enjoy herself

What is Julia's reaction when Winston tells her the details of his loveless marriage?

It seems as if she already knows what he's going to say (132), therefore she is not surprised.

According to Julia, what does sexual privation produce?

It produces hysteria

What does Julia believe will help Winston and her to construct a secret world in which they can live?

"It was somehow possible to construct a secret world in which you could live as you chose. All you needed was luck and cunning and boldness, She did not understand that there was no such thing as happiness, that the only victory lay in the far future, long after you were dead, from the moment of declaring war on the Party it was better to think of yourself as a corpse."

What does Winston's heart keep saying about the affair?

"Folly, folly, his heart kept saying: conscious, gratuitos, suicidal folly"

What does Winston see and hear under the window?

A burly, red-armed woman sings a song and hangs up her laundry

What is Winston thinking of as he awaits Julia?

He wishes they could lead a leisurely romantic life, like an old married couple

What has Julia brought?

Sugar, bread and coffee

What does Winston see when he faces Julia?

He sees she is paler than usual

Why does Julia throw a shoe into the corner?

Winston sees a rat

What is Winston's reaction when Julia describes the rat?

He gets really scared

What is Winston's opinion of the paperweight?

It is a link to the past

According to Winston, who might know the missing line to the nursery rhyme?

He thinks maybe Mr.Charrington can remember some.

What has the paperweight come to symbolize for Winston?

He imagines living inside of it with Julia in an eternal stasis

Who vanishes?

Syme