1984 George Orwell

Winston - Winston Smith is a thin, weak, man. He is very intelligent and it is his intellectual ability to reason that makes him believe he must resist the oppression of the Party, Big Brother and the Thought Police. It is through this character that Orwell educates the reader on the negative effects of mind control, intimidation and manipulation. Winston’s most important characteristic is his passionate hatred toward the Party which leads to his efforts to limit its power. He feels that the only way to maintain his independence is to commit crimes against the Party. It is his paranoia about the Party and the belief that even though he is right he will be caught and punished that leads to his downfall. Character Analysis

Syme - a man who is extremely intelligent and knows it. He is very smug and believes himself to be more important than he really is. He is one of an elite team working on the newest edition of the Newspeak dictionary. Syme believes that he has all the answers and that he is in the inner circle, giving himself great power over those less connected to the Party. Parsons - Parsons is a man who is extremely intelligent and knows it. He is very smug and believes himself to be more important than he really is. Young Woman- young, dark-haired woman who continuously remarks the man’s speech and is caught glancing at Winston.

Newspeak/Vocabulary Prole- people of the working class in Oceania. Social caste is divided into three parts: Inner Party, Outer Party and Proles. Constitute 85% of population, receive little education, work at jobs demanding tough physical labor, live in poverty, have plenty of children, and usually die by the age of sixty. Have much, more freedoms compared to Party members due to their anonymity. Pannikin – Bowl-like china used to serve stew for regulation lunch.

Newspeak/Vocabulary Duckspeak- literally means to quack like a duck. When used against an opponent, it is abuse, used with someone you agree with, it is praise. Ungood – bad or any word describing something bad. Plusgood - excellent or splendid. All words describing something good. Doubleplusgood - for words stronger than Plusgood, like spectacular, or extraordinary. Facecrime - a punishable offense when one wears an improper expression on their face.

Literary Elements “What was slightly horrible was that from the stream of sound that poured out of his mouth, it was almost impossible to distinguish a single word.” In this passage, Orwell uses figurative language to appeal to the reader. He uses a metaphor to describe the words as a stream of water to make the reader imagine the flow of the speech.

Literary Elements “The eyeless creature at the other table swallowed it fanatically, passionately, with a furious desire to track down, denounce, and vaporize anyone who should suggest that last week the ration had been thirty grams.” In this passage, George Orwell personifies the chubby man in the back as an “eyeless creature”. He describes him as such to make the reader not only imagine, but literally see the man’s physical features and to describe his gullibility and ignorance.

Discussion Questions What kind of problems or misunderstandings could arise due to the destruction of words? The destruction of words would cause people to not be as clear when describing something, and words such as Duckspeak, an insult and a praise, could be taken the wrong way, causing general misunderstandings and disagreements. What makes Winston believe that Syme will be vaporized, and what advantage does this give the government if the intelligent people are vaporized. Winston believes that he would be vaporized because he is too intelligent. The Inner Party gains the ability to keep its society generally misinformed and unable to think better ideas by vaporizing people. Once they get what they want from the individual, they are terminated.

Discussion Questions What did the young woman at lunch symbolize in the story? She symbolizes the corrupt innocence that would lead to Winston’s (society’s) paranoia and eventual downfall. What does the Parsons’ character represent? The human need to justify even the most offensive behavior in order to fit in and not to draw attention to one’s self by going against the majority.

Chapter Summary Winston has lunch with Syme, a man that Winston loosely refers to as a friend. Winston recognizes that Syme isn’t a friend in the real sense of the word; he’s more of a “comrade” or a fellow member of the party who Winston doesn’t really care for. Syme is working to compile the Eleventh Edition of the Newspeak dictionary. Syme believes himself to be smarter than most everyone else, including Winston. Syme explains the importance of Newspeak and its goal of narrowing the variety of thoughts in order to make thoughtcrimes obsolete. His theory is that if people don’t have the words to express unconventional, disobedient thoughts, then they won’t be defiant or even think about being disloyal. Winston believes that Syme’s smug intelligence will lead to his eventual vaporization.

Chapter Summary As they are finishing their lunches, a man who also lives at Victory Mansions named Parsons comes to the table seeking a contribution for neighborhood Hate Week. Even though Parson weakly apologizes to Winston for how his son attacked him the day before, he goes on to proudly boasts about the child’s keen sense of spirit.

Chapter Summary The conversation is interrupted by a broadcast message over the loud speakers from the Ministry of Plenty who announces that production has increased. Winston listens as the Ministry of Plenty tells them about “our new, happy life” and how the chocolate ration has been increased to twenty grams. Winston wonders how the people surrounding him can accept this announcement without question when the day before it was announce that the chocolate ration would be “raised” to twenty grams. It is then Winston feels that he is being watched and as he looks up he sees the dark-haired girl staring at him. He worries again that she is a member of the Thought Police.

Chapter Analysis A major theme used by Orwell is the urban decay which is vividly described in this chapter. The description of the food, the trays and the smell of the canteen is a strong visual symbol of the decay that goes along with the ideal of totalitarian government. The use of the ever present telescreens serves as a reminder of where the Party’s priorities really are, not on the welfare of the citizens but the technology needed to monitor them.

This chapter also uses the “doublethink” of the Party’s campaign to manipulate the citizens by using two contradictory ideas at the same time. The more the Party uses their mind-control, the less individuals are able to think on their own. No one questions why the Ministry of Plenty oversees economic shortages, the Ministry of Peace wages war and the Ministry of Truth takes care of the propaganda and the Ministry of Love handles all operations of torture and punishment. Chapter Analysis