Questions for George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four

Part 1, Chapter 1

1. Where and when is the story set?

2. Briefly describe each of the four government Ministries. Where does Winston work?

3. What is Winston’s first act of rebellion that we see in this book? Is this illegal? What would happen if he were

caught?

4. What jarring event do they all attend together for two minutes? Describe this event. Whose picture spurs it on?

Part 1, Chapter 2 1. What is the name of the Party’s organization for children?

2. Why were the children disappointed?

3. Why were all children savages nowadays? What horrible thing were children often encouraged to do?

Part 1, Chapter 3 1. What had happened to Winston’s parents?

2. In what activity was Winston forced to participate, and what did he do for the first time in years (mentioned

toward the end of the chapter)?

3. War had been ongoing since the fifties between three major powers. What were these three major powers, and

what was the current political situation between them?

4. In your own words, explain the concept of “doublethink.” Provide an example from the book.

Part 1, Chapter 4 1. What are the garbage slots called at Winston’s workplace in the Ministry of Truth? How does even this suggest

the total control of the Party?

2. What is Winston’s job? How might this have led him to his abnormally rebellious thoughts?

3. What did people in the Ministry of Truth do to people who had been vaporized?

Part 1, Chapter 5 1. According to Winston’s “friend” Syme, what is his chief job with regard to language? What is the whole aim of

Newspeak?

2. What is Winston’s opinion on Syme’s future and why?

3. Another comrade of Smith’s, Parsons, brags about his daughter’s actions – what did she do to make him so

proud?

4. What scares Winston and makes him wonder if his facial features had been under control while he was

reflecting on the poor quality of life they all experienced? (What is the name of the crime of wearing an

improper expression on one’s face?)

Part 1, Chapter 6 1. What was one’s worst enemy, in Winston’s opinion, and why? What was the most deadly danger of all?

2. Who is Katharine?

3. Why do you think the Party puts such a high priority on killing/distorting the sex instinct?

4. What did Winston notice about the prostitute towards the end of his account? He obviously hates

remembering this event... why is he torturing himself by writing it down?

Part 1, Chapter 7 1. Why must hope lie in the proles, according to Winston?

2. According to Winston, what is the only evidence that life may have been better before the Revolution?

3. What piece of evidence had Winston found that could have blown the Party to atoms had he been able to

properly publish it?

4. Winston writes, “I understand HOW: I do not understand WHY.” What does he mean here? WHY what?

Part 1, Chapter 8 1. What does Winston do at the beginning of this chapter that is dangerous? Why is it dangerous?

2. What does Winston buy from the antique dealer, and why is he drawn to it? (Note that this will be an important

symbol in the book.)

3. What idea cheers Winston up as he leaves the shop? Why might this cheer him up?

4. What terrifies him soon after, and why? What effect does this have on him for the rest of the evening?

Part 2, Chapter 1 1. What was written on the scrap of paper that the dark-haired girl slipped to him? Why would she write this?

2. What difficulty faced Winston (antagonized Winston) after receiving the note? What is the effect of this section

of the chapter (the dramatic significance)?

3. What kind of demonstration allows Winston and the girl to meet in Victory Square? As they’re holding hands,

into whose eyes does Winston stare? Why do you think Orwell ends his chapter like this?

Part 2, Chapter 2

1. What is Winston’s overriding feeling about himself in the first moments that he’s with Julia? How does she

respond to his fears? What do you think she sees in him?

2. What fascinates Winston about the thrush singing in the trees next to them? What might be the significance of

this moment?

3. What do you make of Winston and Julia’s relationship? Is this love? If not, what is it?

Part 2, Chapter 3 1. After their first meeting together, what does Winston realize that he doesn’t know about Julia?

2. According to Julia, “If you kept the small rules, you could break the big ones.” What does this mean?

3. What is Julia like? Try to identify three character traits, and provide justification for each.

Part 2, Chapter 4 1. What had Winston done that was “conscious, gratuitous, suicidal folly”? Why had he done this?

2. What strikes Winston about the prole lady singing outside the apartment?

3. What is the symbolism of the glass paperweight?

Part 2, Chapter 5

1. Who has vanished at the beginning of this chapter?

2. What kind of poster has appeared in preparation for Hate Week? What effect does this seem to have on the

general population?

Part 2, Chapter 6 1. How does O’Brien make himself and Winston accomplices in their initial conversation?

2. What sensation does Winston have at the end of the chapter, and why?

Part 2, Chapter 7

1. “The proles are human beings… We are not human.” –What does Winston mean by this?

2. According to Winston, what would be true betrayal?

Part 2, Chapter 8

1. What are Winston and Julia prepared to do for the Brotherhood? What are they not prepared to do for it?

2. What will make Winston’s entrance into the brotherhood official?

Part 2, Chapter 9 1. What had happened on the sixth day of Hate Week? What was remarkable about the way it was “announced” to

the people?

2. According to Emmanuel Goldstein, what would be a better name of the Party’s “English Socialism”? (See the title

of his book.)

3. What does Goldstein’s book reveal about how war has changed – in what two ways has war changed since the

Revolution? Briefly explain each.

Part 2, Chapter 10 1. What does Winston say about the singing prole lady in this chapter? Why might he say this?

2. What might the smashing of the coral paperweight represent?

3. Who was the first member of the thought police that Winston ever knowingly saw?

Part 3, Chapter 1 1. What is Winston’s overriding thought/concern?

2. How had Parson’s committed thoughtcrime?

3. What seems to be the worst place in the world, according to all the prisoners? What is the worst thing in the

world, according to Winston?

Part 3, Chapter 2

1. What do we now realize was the significance of Winston’s dream that he and O’Brien would meet in the place

where there is no darkness?

2. According to O’Brien, what is the matter with Winston? What does O’Brien try to convince him about the past?

Part 3, Chapter 3 1. What are the three stages of Winston’s reintegration? What stage is he entering into at this point in the story?

2. According to O’Brien, why does the Party seek power? (Is it for the good of mankind?)

3. As O’Brien tries to convince Winston that the Party’s power over matter is absolute, he exclaims, “We control

matter because we control the mind. Reality is inside the ____________.” What does this mean?

4. According to O’Brien, what kind of world is the Party building? (What does a world of pure, boundless power

look like?) What striking visual does he provide to help Winston understand?

5. What is the one degradation that Winston has not suffered?

Part 3, Chapter 4 1. How has Winston’s situation changed by the beginning of this chapter? Give some specific examples.

2. What three things does Winston write on his slate? What does this symbolize?

3. How does Winston now describe freedom?

4. What is the final step in Winston’s reconditioning, according to O’Brien? Where does he take Winston to

accomplish this?

Part 3, Chapter 5 1. What is in Room 101?

2. Why are the rats necessary, according to O’Brien?

3. How did Winston survive this ordeal?

Part 3, Chapter 6 1. Who is Oceania at war with at this point in the story?

2. Winston reflects on Julia’s old comment, “They can’t get inside you.” How does he feel about this now? What

changed his mind?

3. What is Winston’s job now? Is this a fulfilling job? Why doesn’t anyone care what he does (or does not do)?