1984 – Part One
Chapter 1 Discussion Questions
1) What is “quiet optimism”?
2) Why are there no laws in Oceania?
3) Winston observes that an angry prole is turned out of a movie theatre
but isn’t punished. Why do you think she isn’t punished the same way a
party member would be?
4) Why do you think Orwell described Goldstein as having a Jewish face?
Chapter 2 Discussion Questions
1) Describe Mrs. Parsons and how she lives.
2) How do the Parsons’ children behave? Why is Mrs. Parsons nervous
around them?
3) What is a child hero?
4) Winston reflects that “He was already dead.” Explain what he means by
this.
5) Go back to Chapter 1. Who is O’brien and what is significant about him?
6) Choose one or two lines that attracted your attention. Be prepared to
discuss why.
7) Look at this link: Hitler Youth Movement What does this movement have
in common with the Youth League in 1984.
8) Look at this link: The White Rose What was this group and what were
they trying to do?
Chapter 3 Discussion Questions
1) Winston states that “Tragedy…belonged to an ancient time…” He then
wakes up with “‘Shakespeare’ on his lips.” What do you think George
Orwell was trying to say by putting these two ideas together?
2) State the names of the countries at war. What is the lie regarding these
countries that Winston knows?
3) Describe doublethink. Can you think of a modern example of
doublethink?
4) What are some other lies told by the state that Winston mentions?
5) Choose one or two lines that attracted your attention. Discuss why.
Chapter 4 Discussion Questions
1) Describe where Winston works and what Winston does for a living.
2) Winston states that “it was not even forgery. It was merely the
substitution of one piece of nonsense for another.” Explain what he means
by this.
3) What does “vaporized” mean? What is an “unperson.”
4) Who are proles? How are they treated differently?
5) What is a “speakwrite”?
6) Describe Comrade Ogilvy. What are the circumstances of his life and
death and how is he significant to the story?
7) Choose one or two lines that attracted your attention. Discuss why.
Chapter 5 Discussion Questions
1) Who is Syme? Describe what he does for a living. Why does Winston
call him “venomously orthodox”?
2) Describe Newspeak? What is the purpose of Newspeak? How does
Syme feel about Newspeak?
3) What is a “thoughtcrime?
4) What is Oldspeak? Why would the Party want to get rid of Oldspeak?
5) According to Syme, what is orthodoxy?
6) What does Winston think is wrong with Syme?
7) George Orwell created characters in order for his readers to identify their
own behavior and the behavior of people they associate with. What kind of
a modern person does Parsons represent. Use examples from the story to
support your view.
8) Describe the inconsistency between the statistics that pour out of the
telescreen (p62) and the reality of the citizens’ lives.
9) What is a “facecrime”?
10) Choose one or two lines that attracted your attention. Discuss why.
Chapter 6 Discussion Questions
1) Describe the Party’s rules and attitudes towards sex and marriage.
2) What is the “Junior Anti-sex league? Describe its purpose.
3) What “artsem”? Does it actually work? Explain.
4) Describe Winton’s relationship with his wife Katherine. How did she feel
about the Party.
5) Choose one or two lines that attracted your attention. Be prepared to
discuss why.
Chapter 7 Discussion Questions
1) Why does Winston state that “If there was hope, it must lie with the
proles.”
2) How are the proles presented in the novel? What kind of people are
they? How are they treated differently from the Inner and Outer Party and
why?
3) How does the Party represent capitalists before the Revolution?
4) Who is Big Brother, Goldstein, Jones, Aaronson and Rutherford? What
is their story?
5) What is the Chestnut Tree Café?
6) What is the significance of the photograph found by Winston?
7) What does Winston do with the photograph?
8) How does Winston feel about O’brien?
Chapter 8 Discussion Questions
1) Do party members ever spend time alone? Explain.
2) What is “ownlife”?
3) What is a “steamer”?
4) What is Winston wearing that makes him stand out to the proles?
5) What does Winston do to the human hand he finds in the gutter? What
does this say about Winton’s previous experiences?
6) How do proles feel about the Lottery? What is the truth about the
Lottery?
7) Why does Winston feel that “it could only be a prole” who could give a
“truthful account of conditions in the early part of the century”?
8) What question does Winton ask the man in the bar? What does Winston
conclude at the end of the conversation with the man?
9) Describe the glass object Winston buys in the antique shop. Why is it
“doubly attractive”?
10) What is the name of the owner of the antique shop?
11) When Winston runs into a female party member, what does he first
consider doing and why does he change his mind?
12) Discuss any part of this chapter that relates or reminds you of your own
life or of a part of our culture.