English 12 M. Boudreau October 27, 2014

1984 - Chapter 1

A. Questions for thought

1. Describe Winston Smith. In you opinion, is he a sympathetic character? Why or why not? ______

2. Describe the telescreens. What is their usefulness to the Party? ______

3. What is the significance of the Party’s slogan? ______

4. Describe the Two Minutes Hate. What is its usefulness to the Party? ______5. Explain the significance of at least three ways Winston defies the Party in Chapter 1? ______

B. Creative response

Pretend you have had a nightmare in which you are suddenly living in Winston’s world. In a journal entry, write down the frightening elements of your dream. Use a minimum of 10 of the following references from the novel:

______English 12 M. Boudreau October 27, 2014

The Handmaid’s Tale – Part I and II (page 3 to 43)

ANALYSIS- Analyse any 6 of the following quotations paying particular attention to the poetic and stylistic devices used by the author. Remember to situate the quotations within the context of the novel and to comment on the overall meaning of the selected text.

A. How I used to despise such talk. Now I long for it. At least it was talk. An exchange, of sorts.

Or we would gossip. The Marthas know things, they talk among themselves , passing the unofficial news from house to house. Like me, they listen at doors, no doubt, and see things even with their eyes averted. I’ve heard them at it sometimes, caught whiffs of their private conversations. Stillborn it was. Or, stabbed her with a knitting needle, right in the belly. Jealousy, it must have been, eating her up. Or, tantalizingly, It was toilet cleaner she used. Worked like a charm, though you’d think he’d of tasted it. Must’ve been that drunk; but they found her out all right (12).

B. Fraternize means to behave like a brother. Luke told me that. He said that there was no corresponding word that meant to behave like a sister. Sororize, it would have to be, he said. From the Latin. He liked knowing about such details. The deviations of words curious usages. I used to tease him about being pedantic (13).

C. This garden is the domain of the Commander’s Wife. Looking out through my shatterproof window I’ve often seen her in it, her knees on a cushion, a light blue veil thrown over her wide gardening hat, a basket at her side with shears in it and pieces of string for tying flowers into place. A Guardian detailed to the Commander does the heavy digging; the Commander’s Wife directs, pointing with her stick. Many of the Wives have such gardens, it’s something for them to order and maintain and care for (14).

D. Sometimes I think these scarves aren’t sent to the Angels at all, but unravelled and turned back into balls of yarn, to be knitted again in their turn. Maybe it’s just something to keep the Wives busy, to give them a sense of purpose. But I envy the Commander’s Wife her knitting. It’s good to have small goals that are easily attained (15).

E. Her eyebrows were plucked into thin arched lines, which gave her a permanent look of surprise, or outrage, or inquisitiveness, such as you might see on a startled child, but below them her eyelids were tired-looking. Not so her eyes, which were the flat hostile blue of a midsummer sky in bright sunlight, a blue that shuts you out (18).

F. I walk along the gravel path that divides the back lawn, neatly, like a hair parting. It has rained during the night; the grass to either side is damp, the air humid. Here and there are worms, evidence of the fertility of the soil, caught by the sun, half dead; flexible and pink, like lips (21).

G. Then I find I am not ashamed after all. I enjoy the power; power of a dog bone, passive but there (28).

H. There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don’t underrate it (31).

I. To the front of us, to the right, is the store where we order dresses. Some people call them habits, a good word for them. Habits are hard to break (31).

J. I look at the one red smile. The red of the smile is the same as the red of the tulips in Serena Joy’s garden, towards the base of the flowers where they are beginning to heal. The red is the same but there is no connection. The tulips are not tulips of blood, the red smiles are not flowers, neither thing makes a comment on the other. The tulip is not a reason for disbelief in the hanged man, or vice versa. Each thing is valid and really there. It is through a field of such valid objects that I must pick my way, every day and in every way. I put a lot of effort into making such distinctions. I need to make them. I need to be very clear, in my own mind (43).