Do You Have What it Takes?!

Now that you are familiar with George Orwell's novel, "1984, " are you ready for a quick quiz of all the information?! (check out the link below) Here's a fun game that we have created for your enjoyment. There are also facts and information about the novel mixed in, so pay attention! Hope you had a great time hearing about "1984!"

OUR 1984 GAME QUIZ:

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Figurative Language & Stylistic Devices

George Orwell used figurative language in the novel very tastefully. For example:

Personification - "If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say this or that even, it never happened—that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death,"
 (Orwell 126).

Orwell uses personification to give life to the story. In this quote, he gives life to the Party by saying it could thrust its hand into the past, which is obviously not something that can be done.

Irony - “War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength,” (Orwell 27).

Orwell uses irony to contradict himself in a positive way and to bring in new light to the subject. He forces readers to think that two complete polar opposites such as freedom and slavery are one in the same, giving hope to those in slavery and a wake up call to those who are free. Irony brings a new aspect to common terminology.

Repetition - “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the future controls the past,” (Orwell 248).

Orwell uses repetition to keep readers interested. It forces readers to re-read and re-think for further meaning. It is his way of reinforcing that what he is saying is important enough to repeat it.

Diction

The novel was written in George Orwell’s typical style, in the third person narrative. It is clear and lucid. None of the vocabulary is particularly complicated which makes it easy to understand and interesting at the same time. Any novel written this way is bound to be accessible to the public. “Orwell's "plain style" was a deliberate contrivance, formed in response to Newspeak,” says Hugh Kenner in his literary criticism regarding the language, art, and politics of the novel. Newspeak is the official language spoken in Oceania engineered to remove the mere possibility of rebellious thoughts. It removed all negative words and worked to control the thoughts of citizens. For example, to express the meaning of the word “bad,” was by saying “ungood.” Furthermore, extremely bad was even said as “doubleplus ungood.” Orwell used this intriguing technique yet still managed to keep the novel plain and comprehendible.

Tone

The tone of this novel is dark and apathetic. The main character, Winston, seems to dislike everything that is going on around him, but is hesitant to do anything about it. He goes with the flow, but is not very happy about it, which makes the tone seem almost depressing. Towards the end, the tone could be said to be defeated because he was brainwashed to agree with everything Big Brother said and he lost the love he had for Julia.

This literary criticism describes the usual tones in Orwell's works. It goes on to talk about "1984" and the reasoning behind some of its main ideas and the way it was written. To visit the article, look at our favorite links!
Woodcock, George, and Harold Bloom. "George Orwell and the Living Word." Bloom's Modern Critical Views: George Orwell (1986): 121-37. Literary Reference Center. Web. 12 Jan. 2010.

Theme: Technology Cast in a Negative Light

In George Orwell's "1984", technology plays a huge role in making the plot line even plausible. As the book was written 35 years earlier, in 1949, computers had not yet played a major role in peoples' lives. Back in the day, technology was commonly thought of as having a potentially positive effect on the future. Technology had so much to offer, and seeing as mankind developed the computer, it could only work to our advantage, right? Wrong. 1984 proposes the idea of technology working against us. As one social group may turn on another, what if the government, armed with technology, turns on it's people? This is the freaky reality of the plot in 1984. The totalitarian government used computers and technology to invade the privacy of its people. Telescreens were installed in every individual home, where "Big Brother" (the eyes of the government) can anonymously spy on the home-life of literally EVERYONE. Winston explains what life at home is like with the presence of the telescreen as having to, "...set his features into the expression of quiet optimism, which it was advisable to wear when facing the telescreen" (Orwell 4). Microphones were hidden all over the town also; private conversations could not possibly be conducted. In 1984, there was no limit set for when the government may or may not be crossing the line. When is too much simply too much? Well you know it's extreme when computers are being used as weaponry, rather than a unifying piece of technology.

Theme: Control

Control is the most evident theme throughout the entire book, both mentally and physically. The party successfully controls the minds of every one of its citizens through various approaches. the most obvious one is the telescreens-- everyone has one telescreen in the dead-center of their homes that constantly expresses a running stream of mindless propaganda, brainwashing the average man to be unable to recognize the evil nature of the totalitarian party. The telescreen also acts as a window for the government to literally watch everyone, individually, and how they act at home. It eliminates any chance of having privacy. Another approach the party takes to brainwash the minds of the citizens is persuading the youngest generation, the children, to join an organization called "The Junior Spies". Their mission as a part of this organization is to spy on their families and report suspicious behavior.
Physical control is also apparent in the story. Winston can not even face the telescreen in his home without putting on a fake optimistic facial expression. Any physical evidence of mischievousness or disagreement could result in torture or death. Sexual desires have been suppressed to such a degree that participating in any sexual act is simply for the reason to reproduce more children, to make the party thrive and exist for more generations to come. The book concludes with the idea that there is no pain worse than physical pain. Winston gave up all of his emotional commitments to Julia just to resist physical pain, and ultimately, conform.

Character Analysis

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Winston Smith - Winston's character, a low ranking member of the party, is designed to represent the common man. Though Winston lives in constant fear of the party, he often considers rebellion of some sort, and, eventually does rebel. Winston's rebellion, however, extends beyond the act of rebellion itself. He desires to understand why the Party has such power, and how it functions the way it does. Orwell has Winston act in such a fashion to give the reader a view into the soul of the Party.

Winston's rebellions come in several different fashions, such as his diary, his affair with Julia, and his decision to join the Brotherhood, a secret group that opposes the Party. Winston's rebellions come depsite constant fear that the party is watching him. He ends up being correct: there was a telescreen on him during his affair with Julia, and his induction into the Brotherhood was really the work of O'Brien, a government agent, pretending to be a rebel. Because Smith feels he will already be caught by the party, he does not bother covering his tracks, which is what actually leads to him being caught. His guarded optimism is empty, and Winston has no real hope for a good life. Ultimately, he is bent to submission by O'Brien and the Party, demonstrating how great totalitarianism's control on the people can be.

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Julia - Julia acts as a foil for Smith. While she rebels against the Party through her affair with Winston, she is rebelling for different reasons. Winston is focused on the greater issues at stake, such as the government's oppression and how everybody is forced into submission. Julia, however, simply wants to enjoy her life, and rebels not because the issues threatening Oceania bother her but because she does not want to be limited by the party. She also hints that she has had affairs before and does not plan on stopping. Because of this, she is more focused on not getting caught by the party, while Winston is already resigned to it.

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O'Brien - O'Brien's character is about what he represents rather than O'Brien himself. O'Brien is essentially a representation of the Inner Party. The way in which the party functions is never actually revealed, and it is left as a mystery to both Winston and all readers. All that is known of O'Brien is that he is a high-ranking government agent, and that he also pretended to be in the Brotherhood in order to draw Winston into an act of treason. O'Brien hints during his interrogation of Winston that he too was once rebellious. Questions about his past, however, remain unanswered, as do any questions about how the Inner Party works and whether or not the Brotherhood actually exists.

Setting

Obviously, this story takes place in the year 1984, during a time of war. According to the novel, “...this was London, chief city of Airstrip One, itself the third most populous of the provinces of Oceania,” (Orwell 3). This place is different because there are so many restrictions and everyone was constantly being watched.

According to the literary criticism entitled, ""It Makes No Difference": A Utopia of Simulation and Transparency," this setting is considered to be almost the opposite of a utopia.

Fortunati, Vita, and Harold Bloom. ""It Makes No Difference": A Utopia of Simulation and Transparency." Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations: 1984 (1987): 109-20. Literary Reference Center. Web.

Plot Overview

1984 was written by George Orwell in 1949, as a statement against the totalitarian governmental system. Toletarianism is a dictatorship which requires complete subservience to the state. The main character, Winston Smith, is a member of the ruling party in London; though he does not hold a high rank on the royal ladder, and he disagrees with the extreme measures that the government / ruling party have taken to gain absolute control. There are telescreens everywhere-- all over the city, and even inside of his own home-- that overlook Winston's (as well as everyone else in society) actions and thoughts. Thought police are present, who regulate thought crimes: simply thinking rebellious thoughts was punishable by extreme action. Winston Smith illegally purchases a diary to record his forbidden thoughts into: an action punishable by death. The party has even invented a new language, Newspeak, which tries to thwart political rebellion by eliminating all words in existence that relate to it.
Winston Smith is also interested in a powerful party member, O'Brien, because he believes he is a member of The Brotherhood. The Brotherhood is the only underground, legendary society that is conspiring to overthrow the totalitarian government. Winston also works in the Ministry of Truth, altering historical records to meet the standards of the strictly regulatory ruling party. Through this, he meets a beautiful co-worker named Julia. In time, they reveal their feelings for each other (sexual desire is strictly forbidden), and they begin a secret affair-- renting a room above the secondhand store that Winston originally bought his diary from.
Eventually, O'Brian summons Winston to come and see him. It turns out that the owner of the store was an undercover thought police officer, and he tactfully lured Winston into a trick that would reveal his devious behavior. He is tortured by O'Brian through his worst fear: rats. A cage of rats was strapped over Winston's head as a torture method; if he did not tell O'Brian what he wanted to hear, the rats would eat his face. Winston breaks under the pressure and pleads to have Julia tortured instead of himself.
After Winston gave up Julia under the pressure of O'Brian's dominance, he lost all feelings for her. He was sent back into the totalitarian world, emotionally brainwashed, and he learned to accept the constricted way of life that the government set in place, rather than resisting it.

About the Author: George Orwell

Birth name: Eric Arthur Blair

Date of Birth: June 25, 1903 (in Motihari, Bengal, the son of a minor british official in India)

Education: Went to private school. Was a very good student. Instead of continuing his education and going to a university, he became an officer in the Indian Imperial Police in Burma.

Died: January 21, 1950 (due to a lung hemorrhage)

George Orwell had always wanted to write "a neat shelf of realistic novels." When he returned to England after his service in Burma in 1927, he wrote about the depressing British service there in "Burmese Days" (1934). He lived in London and then in Paris and wrote "Down and Out in Paris and London" (1933), which is specifically about Orwell's poverty during his time in those cities. In the 1930's his work became more political than literary.

In the late 1930's Orwell went to Spain to cover the Spanish Civil War where he joined the military as a captain. During his time in the war he was shot in the neck and unfortunately was left with permanent vocal chord damage. "Homage to Catalonia" was published in 1938 and it was based on his experiences in Spain.

Orwell married Eileen O' Shaughnessy one year before he moved back to England after the Spanish Civil war. After the start of World War II, Orwell became a member of the home guard and started work in the Indian division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) where he worked on political and literary commentaries on the war. In 1943 he left the BBC and became a member of the Tribune, writing a weekly column called "As I Please". In 1945 Orwell's wife, Eileen died, which left Orwell to raise a son they adopted in 1944.

At this point in time Orwell was chronically ill (especially with pneumonia). He spent the end of his life on an island of Jura in the Outer Hebrides. Here he worked on his last novel, 1984. He was admitted to a London hospital in 1949 for tuberculosis treatment. While there he married a younger editorial assistant, Sonia Brownwell. He past 3 months later due to hemorrhaging in his lung.

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