Background Knowledgeà Mini- Lessonsà Non- Fiction Articles = Critical Thinking

GEORGE ORWELL’S DYSTOPIAN NOVEL

Background knowledge Mini- Lessons Non- Fiction articles = Critical thinking!!

I want you to approach this novel as an experience.

An experience that might change your life.

1 Students ask why we read 1984, “Isn’t it old? Can’t we read something newer?” Regardless of when Orwell published his novel, what is important to understand is how relevant the novel is to modern society. This book will change the way you think about the world around you. You will belong to an elite group of people who have read the book and now see the world differently after experiencing 1984.

 Students need to experience 1984 because they should be exposed to and study the relationships between

totalitarianism, technology, psychology, and language … As a work of fiction, the ideas are more

accessible, more interrelated, and more engaging; the sheer horror of totalitarianism is more real.

 Orwell’s interest in language shows how corrupt language can manipulate a society and control reality by

corrupting language… Studying the effects language manipulation helps us to cherish our language with all

of its rich diversity and ambiguities…and the importance of using language that is not vague and misleading

but clear and precise.

 Another major emphasis of the novel is the use of technology combined with advertising techniques

(especially by the government) that are deeply psychological to eliminate individuality and privacy.

 Perhaps the most interesting and discussable feature of Orwell’s novel is its description of the nature of

truth… Truth is proven by the consensus of millions; to the slogan ‘how can millions be wrong’ is added

‘and how can a minority of one be right.’ The “one” must be insane. The “consensus truth” concept can

serve as the basis for investigation about individuality, minority rights, majority rule, and, of course, values.

 Nineteen Eighty-four teaches about the danger with which all men are confronted today, the danger of a

society of automatons who will have lost every trace of individuality, of love, of critical thought, and yet

who will not be aware of it because of ‘doublethink’. Books like Orwell’s are powerful warnings.

Adapted from James E. Davis, “Why Nineteen Eighty-four Should Be Read and Taught,” in Censored Books, Scarecrow Press, 1993, pp. 382-87.

Part 1: POST-READING Activity—in your assigned group, discuss each topic and record your responses in the space provided.

 Is it a better government that has more control or less control over its population?

2  The Parliament of Britain has a camera on every corner of every major city and town to ensure safety and minimize criminal acts. And it’s worked! Great Britain has one of the lowest crime rates in the whole world. However, at any given moment, law-abiding citizens are watched, scrutinized, and examined. Would you be comfortable with this? Do you think extensive camera surveillance is a good idea or bad idea? Explain.

 Cell phones and GPS units operate using towers and satellites that receive and send signals (directions, help, etc.) to devices on the ground. At any point in time, a person operating these satellites can “tap in” to you while you drive and determine your exact location. Is this a good thing or bad thing? Explain.

 Lawmakers and officials are currently reasoning a new law that would allow the random use of cell phone records along with GPS units to determine if people are texting, talking, or browsing the web while driving. If caught, tickets, points, fines, suspensions, jail time could result. Fair or unfair? Explain.

 How do you feel when people are watching you? Are you comfortable with people just stare at you, making sure you are falling in line, doing everything as you should? (see lyrics “Somebody’s Watching Me”)

Somebody's Watching Me

Rockwell

Who's watching I'm just an average man with an average life

Tell me who's watching I work from 9 to 5, hey hell, I pay the price

Who's watching me All I want is to be left alone, in my average home

3 But why do I always feel I don't know anymore!

Like I'm in the Twilight Zone? and... Are the neighbors watching me?

Who's watching

I always feel like somebody's watching me Well is the mailman watching me?

And I have no privacy, whoa-oa-oa Tell me who's watching

I always feel like somebody's watching me And I don't feel safe anymore, oh what a mess

Tell me, is it just a dream I wonder who's watching me now

Who? The IRS?!

When I come home at night

I bang the door real tight I always feel like somebody's watching me

People call me on the phone I'm trying to avoid And I have no privacy, whoa-oa-oa

Or can the people on TV see me, or am I just paranoid? I always feel like somebody's watching me

When I'm in the shower, I'm afraid to wash my hair Tell me is it just a dream

Cause I might open my eyes and find someone standing I always feel like somebody's watching me there! And I have no privacy, whoa-oa-oa People say I'm crazy, just a little touched I always feel like somebody's watching me But maybe showers remind me of "Psycho" too much

That's why...

I always feel like somebody's watching me

And I have no privacy, whoa-oa-oa

I always feel like somebody's watching me

Who's playing tricks on me?

Who's watching me

Build Background Information 1984

1. Author: Eric Arthur Blair (George Orwell) Overly Paranoid? a) Published novel in 1948 b) Orwell was ill with tuberculosis while writing the Maybe He Has A Point… novel. He later died from this disease in 1950. How do you know we are c) Orwell said about his novel: “I am not pleased with the book, but not being watched right I am not absolutely dissatisfied…I think it is a good idea, but the execution would have been better if I had not written it Now? under the influence of TB.”

4 2. The Conditions that Existed in the World, and are Behind Orwell’s Vision for his Novel a) Dictatorships—Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Stalin  Specific parallels to Stalin: Big Brother’s physical appearance, forced confessions, executions, “liquidations”; Stalin’s reign of terror resulted in between 8 and 13 million deaths.  Other parallels to Stalin and Hitler: Extreme nationalism, emphasis on public displays of patriotism, food shortages/rationing, censorship of media, forced-labor camps, spying, secret police, constant war/threat of war, youth league (based on Hitler Youth) b) Cold War—U.S., Soviet Union, and China c) Brainwashing—Used by Chinese Communists and during the Korean War; Involved a two-step process (first was the confession and the second step was re-education) d) Utopian/Dystopian literature—unlike utopian literature, which depicts a society as it ought to be, the anti-utopian novel presents society as it should not be. Dystopian novels are openly critical of existing societies and contain implicit warnings about where these societies are heading. e) Attack against totalitarianism—A centralized and dictatorial government system in which a single party, without opposition, rules over political, economic, social, and cultural life.

3. Irony and Satire a) 1984 is filled with irony—things are opposite of what they seem, sometimes lies can be the truth b) Examples: Ministry of Truth—information is re-written or erased Ministry of Peace—military matters Ministry of Love—law and order are dispensed Ministry of Plenty—economic matters are managed c) Satire— Irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or exaggeration is used to expose or denounce the faults of humanity, institution, or society. Satire involves both moral judgment and a desire to improve a belief or tradition d) Orwell’s satirical messages to the reader…  People are disinterested in concepts such as integrity, freedom, and individual consciousness.  Fear and hatred can motivate and unite people far better than love and loyalty.  The world is drifting towards totalitarianism.  People do no question justice, morality or the motives of our leaders. GEORGE ORWELL— In His Own Words

On the purpose of 1984:

5 “…I do not believe that the kind of society I describe necessarily will arrive, but I believe (allowing of course for the fact that the book is a satire) that something resembling it could arrive. I believe also that totalitarian ideas have taken root in the minds of intellectuals everywhere, and I have tried to draw these ideas out to their logical consequences. The scene of the book is laid in Britain in order to emphasize that the English-speaking races are not innately better than anyone else and that totalitarianism, if not fought against, could triumph anywhere.”

On modern dictatorships and human nature:

“The terrifying thing about modern dictatorships is that they are something entirely unprecedented. Their end cannot be foreseen. In the past every tyranny was sooner or later overthrown, or at least resisted, because of ‘human nature,’ which as a matter of course desired liberty. Be we cannot be at all certain that ‘human nature’ is constant. It may be just as possible to produce a breed of men who do not wish for liberty as to produce a breed of hornless cows. The Inquisition failed, but then the Inquisition had not the resources of the modern state. The radio, press-censorship, standardized education, and the secret police have altered everything. Mass- suggestion is a science of the last twenty years, and we do not know how successful it will be.”

On writing:

“What I have most wanted throughout the past ten years is to make political writing into an art. My starting point is always a feeling of partisanship, a sense of injustice. When I sit down to write a book, I do not say to myself, ‘I am going to produce a work of art.’ I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing. But I could not do the work of writing a book, or even a long magazine article, if it were not also an aesthetic experience.”

6 7 8 9 10 Key Terms—the following terms that will guide your reading, and help with some of the challenging ideas.

Big Brother: The mysterious all-seeing, all-knowing leader of the totalitarian Party Slogans: "War is Peace"; "Freedom is Slavery"; "Ignorance is society is a god-like icon to the citizens he rules. He is never seen in person, Strength." just staring out of posters and telescreens, looking stern as the caption beneath his image warns “Big Brother Is Watching You.” Pornosec: The area of the Fiction Department in the Ministry of Truth devoted to creating written pornographic material for the proles. Dominated “The Book”: Titled "Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism" and by women because the Party believes women are less likely to be corrupted by supposedly written by Goldstein, it contains the story of humankind and the the material. Revolution, arguing that there is hope for a stronger future without the dishonesty and manipulation of the Party. Prole (Proletariat): 85% of the population that are not Party members and live in poverty. Regulated loosely to weed out the overly intellectual and Airstrip One: Part of Oceania, once known as Britain. protect the Party.

Black Market: Illegal trade resource for all "good quality" materials, such as Reclamation Centers: Colonies for homeless children. real coffee, sugar, razors, etc. Saccharine: A chemical sweetener or sugar substitute; excessively sweet. Doublethink: Newspeak word with two mutually contradictory meanings. The first is used to refer to an opponent, and can be defined as habitually Spanner: Wrench. contradicting plain facts. The second is used to refer to a Party member, and can be defined as a loyal willingness to believe contradictory statements when Speakwrite: A tool used by party members to translate spoken word into the Party demands it, which allows for continual alteration of the past. written word.

Floating Fortress: Part of Oceania's offensive/defensive armaments. Literally Spies and Youth League: A Party youth organization that encourages an unsinkable fortress floating on the ocean. children to spy on and report elders, including parents, to the Thought Police. Indoctrinates children into the Party. Hate Week: A week of hate mongering against enemies of war. Supported by massive rallies and organized through the Ministry of Truth, Hate Week St. Clement's Dane: A building bombed many years ago that once stood by rallies Party members around Oceania and Big Brother. the Law Courts in London. A rendering of the building hangs on the wall in Mr. Charrington's rented room. House of the Lords: Part of the British government in the capitalist days. Referred to by an old man Winston meets at a pub, although Winston does not Telescreen: An oblong metal plaque that looks like a dulled mirror and acts understand the reference or the man's meaning. like a television, a camera, and a listening device for the Inner Party and Thought Police. There is no way to shut it off completely, and it keeps tabs on Ingsoc: Newspeak for English Socialism. This is the doctrine by which the all Party members. government of Oceania is operated. The Physical Jerks: Daily morning exercises all Party members must take Inner Party: 2% of the population. These members possess absolute power. part in. Dictated via the telescreen.

Junior Anti-Sex League: A youth organization advocating complete celibacy The Revolution: The rise of new socialism (versus democracy and for both sexes and encouraging artsem. Julia is a member and wears the capitalism) that resulted in Ingsoc in Oceania, Neo-Bolshevism in Eurasia, organization's symbolic scarlet sash. and Death Worship in Eastasia. Each regime has the conscious aim of perpetuating unfreedom and inequality, arresting progress, freezing history in Ministry of Love (Miniluv): Maintains law and order. Protected with great a chosen moment, and perpetuating war. force. Only those arrested for Thought Crime or who are on official Party business can enter. Referred to within the novel as "the place with no The Times: A Party-sponsored news publication for which Winston works. darkness" because the lights are always on. Dissidents are taken here to be tortured, reformed, or killed. Thought Police: The arm of the Inner Party that seeks out those against the Party, searching out anyone with even the smallest thoughts against the Party Ministry of Peace (Minipax): Responsible for the Party's management of or Big Brother. Their powers of observation force everyone to live as though issues surrounding war. they are always being watched or listened to.

Ministry of Plenty (Miniplenty): Responsible for the Party's economic Thoughtcrime: Thinking against the Party, having misgivings about the affairs. Party, doubting Big Brother, or questioning any Party action or "fact." Facecrime is similar in that facial expressions or tics reveal unorthodox ideas. Ministry of Truth (Minitrue): Responsible for all Party news, entertainment, education and fine arts. The Party’s propaganda machine. Two Minutes Hate: Daily requirement for all Party members. Organized group of members watches Party presentations on a telescreen denouncing Newspeak: The official language of Oceania and the new language of the Goldstein and war enemies, and celebrating Big Brother. Causes great Party. The goal of Newspeak is to reduce the English language to the fewest outbursts of hatred such as directed screaming and violence at visual words possible and remove anti-Party feelings and the ability to disagree. representations of the enemy.

Outer Party: 13% of the population. The middle-class members of society. Vaporized: Thoughtcriminals are removed from society in that they are killed They are carefully scrutinized and controlled. and all evidence of their existence is removed.

The Party: Rules Oceania in a totalitarian matter, controlling every aspect of Victory products: Party-made products, such as gin, cigarettes, clothing, Inner and outer party members. food, and even housing. All of poor quality. Literary Analysis—Look back to the first chapter, establish what you know about the setting, the characters, the situation presented, as well as your initial impressions about the mood. Use the following questions to gather information about the exposition. Please explain your responses, and provide page numbers.

11 1. Who is narrating the story, is it first person, third person? Is the story written in past tense, or present tense?

2. What mood is established in the opening (remember that mood is the feeling or atmosphere created for the reader)? Support your point with textual evidence (a quote—with page number) to illustrate the mood.

Quoted Passage: Describe the Mood:

3. Describe the setting of the novel.

Quoted Passage: Describe the Setting:

Doublethink

The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them....To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes 12 necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies — all this is indispensably necessary. Even in using the word doublethink it is necessary to exercise doublethink. For by using the word one admits that one is tampering with reality; by a fresh act of doublethink one erases this knowledge; and so on indefinitely, with the lie always one leap ahead of the truth. ______

1. Ministry of Truth—really concerned with lies.

a. Changing the records and then actually believing in the change, even though it is a known falsehood.

2. Party must rule as if they are infallible….but they are constantly correcting and learning from their own mistakes

3. Cognitive Therapy: Change the thinking, believe the change, and make the change convincing.

a. Cognitive Distortions are inaccurate thoughts or ideas, which maintain negative thinking.

b. These examples of distortions are what psychologists/psychiatrists intend to change through Cognitive Therapy.

 All-or-nothing thinking - Thinking of things in absolute terms, like “always” or “every” or “never”.

 I can never do this right; no one ever listens to me.

 Mental filter - Focusing exclusively on certain, usually negative or upsetting, aspects of something while ignoring the rest.

 A tiny imperfection in a piece of clothing; didn’t win the race.

 Jumping to conclusions - Assuming something negative where there is no evidence to support it. Two specific subtypes

are also identified:

 Mind reading - Assuming the intentions of others.

 Fortune telling - Predicting how things will turn before they happen. Good example is when you plan out a fight with

someone before the evidence allows the “fight” to happen.

 Labeling and Mislabeling - Explaining behaviors or events, merely by naming them. Rather than describing the specific

behavior, you assign a label to someone or yourself that puts them in absolute and unalterable terms.

 A person is acting immaturely. You call the person immature.

*SUMMARY OF: The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism. By Emmanuel Goldstein

Chapter One, “Ignorance Is Strength,” asserts that the goals of the three classes—High, Middle, and Low—contradict one another. Winston, who is delighted with the freedom to read, now skips to Chapter Three, “War Is Peace.”

This chapter details the locations of the three superpowers who have been permanently at war for the last 25 years. The book describes war as occurring without purpose since, with the introduction of self-sufficient economies, there is no reason to fight. The main purpose of war is to use the surplus of consumer products without raising the standard of living for everyone. War, which

13 accomplishes destruction in a relatively acceptable way, provides a basis for fear and hatred. All members of the Inner Party believe that war ends with conquest, perhaps resulting from the discovery of a new weapon. All three powers, for example, possess the atomic bomb which is the most powerful weapon. After the first atomic bombs were exploded, the superpowers became frightened, produced no more, and stored the remainder for the day when the inevitable would occur.

Usually, large-scale campaigns involve surprise attacks on an ally. Once an area is surrounded with a ring of bases, the powers sign a friendship pact to remain allies, but, in the meantime, a strategic missile build-up is ongoing. No fighting ever occurs except in some disputed areas; there is never an invasion of enemy territory lest the soldiers discover that the conquered foreigners are fellow human beings.

Philosophies of 3 states are almost the same—Ingsoc (Oceania); Neo-Bolshevism (Eurasia): and Obliteration of the Self (Eastasia).

Key concepts to all philosophies are:

1. Pyramidical structures 2. Worship of a semi-divine leader 3. Economy geared toward war

Each of the three states have become unconquerable. Therefore, the previously held concept of war occurring because of some provocation no longer exists. In fact, permanent peace would be the same as permanent war; it has the same effects. This concept is the real meaning of the belief “War Is Peace.” In the end, the supersates are not fighting against one another at all. The war is actually waged by each ruling group against its own subjects—with the intention of using surplus consumable goods, and serving the mental atmosphere that the society needs a hierarchy.

Winston is not surprised by what he reads. After Julia arrives and they make love, he begins to read aloud Chapter One, “Ignorance Is Strength,” which begins with an overview of the class system with one underlying constant; history shows a recurring series of clashes for power with the low class remaining low.

By the late nineteenth century, the book claims, these patterns had become apparent but were of no real concern since historians had declared them as cyclical. Even variants of Socialism after 1900 aimed less and less for liberty and equality, but, instead, aimed for unfreedom and inequality.

By the beginning of the twentieth century, there was no longer any reason for social or economic class distinction because machines had made a life of productivity and leisure possible for everyone. Although the descendants affected by the French, English, and American revolutions may have believed in equality, by the 1930s political thought had changed and a hierarchy had become desirable. This thinking explains how long-abandoned practices such as trial, torture, and public executions became more widespread.

The new totalitarianism had leaders whose origins were in the salaried and upper middle class; therefore, wealth meant little to them, but power meant everything. Perhaps this interest in power stemmed from the fact that it became easier to control opinion through print and television.

In this setting the high class knew how to maintain its power, for it relied on the principle that oligarchy is collectivism, that wealth and privilege can be defended when they are possessed jointly. The real effect, though, is that when the principle of private property is abolished, the real control is in the hands of a few. Together the Party owns everything in Oceania, but the decisions are made by a few. Ingsoc, based on this Socialist idea, resulted in a permanent economic inequality.

The ruling group can only fall from power under the following circumstances:

14 1. defeat from the outside superstates 3. allowing the dissatisfied Middle-Class to gain strength

2. ineffective leadership causing the masses to revolt 4. losing its desire to rule

In Oceania the continuation of the hierarchy is due to the persistence of the belief through children. One becomes an Inner or Outer Party member at age 16 after taking an exam. The proles really are no threat since their world has been shaped by the Party. They need no education, since military and commercial rivalries no longer exist and they have no intellect.

Commitment to the Party, combined with hatred of the enemy, shapes the life of every Party member, who has been taught from the earliest ages the skill of “crimestop,” the faculty of stopping any dangerous thought. The need for flexibility in dealing with facts demands their continuous alteration made possible by “doublethink.”

Since mutability (changeability) of the past is the central belief of Ingsoc, “doublethink” becomes critical because the Party seems to have a firmness of purpose associated with honesty. Under the disguise of straightforwardness, the Party has deviously altered events in accordance with its philosophy. Thus, the Party has been able to stop history.

The linking together of opposites is the distinguishing feature of Oceania’s society. Even the major institutions are examples of “doublethink”

1. The society undermines family but preaches 3. Ministry of Truth spreads lies. family loyalty to Big Brother. 4. Ministry of Love is in charge of torture. 2. Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war. 5. Ministry of Plenty oversees starvation.

As he concludes Chapter One, Goldstein asks the same question that has continued to bother Winston throughout the reading: Why should history be stopped at this particular time to avert human equality? Goldstein seems as perplexed as Winston.

At this point Winston realizes that he has not really learned anything new from either chapter. Symbolically, Winston falls asleep before Goldstein is about to answer the central question: “I understand HOW: I do not understand WHY,” which will be addressed later in the novel. Although Winston does not get the answer to his most troubling dilemma, the reading at least proves to him that he is not insane, nor is he alone.

Doublespeak

Can you figure out the real meaning behind many commonly used instances of doublespeak? In 1984 only the Outer Party members could try to do so (as the Inner Party made up each term) and the proles had no idea what was actually being communicated to them. Try to translate each example of doublespeak into plain English.

Residentially challenged

Pavement deficiencies

Aesthetically challenged

Folically challenged

Vertically challenged

15 Collateral damage

Corporate downsizing

Deferred academic success

Adult correctional institution

Motivationally challenged

Full figured

Biosolids

Negative patient care outcome

Period of accelerated negative growth

Mental activity in the margins

Reutilization marketing yard

Domestic engineer

Learning facilitators

Government sanctioned revenue enhancements

Personal economic deficiency

How does this relate to our essential question doe words matter? How does language shape one’s perceptions?

16 SETTING AND MOOD

Setting and mood often work together to create a particular effect. A place can feel cozy, oppressive, or terrifying depending on what you perceive around you. For each setting of 1984 below, list important sensory details (sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and/or physical sensations described by Orwell) along with page #s. Then decide on the mood of each setting.

1. Setting: The canteen in the Ministry of Truth

Sensory Details:

2. Setting: The natural clearing in the woods

Sensory Details:

3. Setting: Mr. Charrington’s upstairs room

Sensory Details:

4. Setting: O’Brien’s house

Sensory Details:

SYMBOLISM

17 There are a number of symbols in the novel 1984. Below, write down the important aspects of each object/person/place, and then use this information and your understanding of the novel to determine what each symbolizes.

 Winston’s diary (Part One)

Important aspects: ______

What it represents:______

 Victory Gin (Parts One and Three)

 “The Bells of St. Clements” (Parts One and Two)

 The paperweight (Parts One and Two)

 The prole woman (Part Two)

Important aspects:______

What it represents: ______

 The Chestnut Tree Café (Parts One and Three)

Important aspects:______

What it represents: ______