1984 Book One Review

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1984Book One Review
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• Narrator
• 3rd Person
• Limited
• Protagonist
• Winston Smith
• Antagonist
• Big Brother
• Tone
• Dark
• Pessimistic
• Mood
• Fearful
• Hateful
• painful

• Setting
• April 4, 1984
• Regardless of when read the setting is the near
  future
• London - Airstrip One Oceania
• War torn
• Food and necessities hard to find
• Dusty dirty dark
• Posters of Big Brother everywhere
• Telescreens everywhere
• Thought Police constant threat
• Children are spies

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Characters

• Winston Smith
• Big Brother
• Julia
• Mrs. Parsons
• The Parsons Children
• Mr. Parsons

• Ogilvy
• OBrien
• Mr. Charrington
• Goldstein
• Syme

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• Themes
• Totalitarianism
• Psychological Manipulation
• Control
• People
• History
• Information
• Language

• Themes
• Loneliness
• Isolation
• Appearance vs. Reality
• Destruction of human values
• Individuality
• Motifs
• Double Think
• Thought Police

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• Irony
• War is Peace
• Freedom is Slavery
• Ignorance is Strength
• Setting
• April should be springtime, but the setting is
• Ministry of Truth
• news
• Ministry of Love
• Law and order
• Ministry of Peace
• war
• Ministry of Plenty
• economy

• Symbols
• Big Brother
• Journal
• Telescreens
• The Golden Country

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Sample Test Question

• Why does the author introduce all of the
  characters in Book One?

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Sample Answer

• The author of I984, George Orwell,
  introduces all of the characters in Book One in
  order to support the theme of loneliness and
  isolation. Winston, the main character, is alone
  even when he is in the company of other people
  because constant suspicion supersedes all
  interchanges between characters. For example in
  his cubicle at the Ministry of Truth, Winston
  raised his head for a moment again the hostile
  spectacle flash. Winston wondered whether
  Comrade Tillotson was engaged on the same job as
  himself. It was perfectly possible. Even at
  work, with others near him, Winston must remain
  on guard. No one is to be trusted.
• Mrs. Parsons is also isolated when with her
  children because she must shield herself from the
  possibility of her son and daughter turning her
  over to the Thought Police. With those children,
  he thought, that wretched woman must lead a life
  of terror. Another year, two years, and they
  would be watching her night and day for symptoms
  of unorthodoxy.

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• Another reason the author presents
  all the characters in Book One is so the reader
  can experience the sudden loss of a comrade just
  as the characters do. Syme will be vaporized.
  He is too intelligent. He sees too clearly and
  speaks too plainly. The Party does not like such
  people. One day he will disappear. If the reader
  was not introduced to Syme in Book One, his
  disappearance in Book Two would not be
  significant the reader would, therefore, miss
  the impact of the here today gone tomorrow
  principle in which Big Brother functions. By
  introducing all of the characters in Book One,
  Orwell allows the reader to fully understand the
  themes and seriousness of the setting of 1984.