1984 Study Guide and Vocabulary

1984 Study Guide
Book One

Chapter 1-2
1. Describe Victory Gardens where Winston lives.

2. What appears to be wrong with Winston’s society?

3. What are the three slogans and four ministries of the Inner Party?

4. How does the Two Minute Hate work and what is its significance?

5. What happens between Winston and O’Brien?

6. What are the “Thought Police” and what is their function?

7. Who are the Parsons and what do they represent?

8. What is Winston’s dream about O’Brien?

Chapters 3-4
1. What is Winston’s dream about his mother? How does he feel about himself in that dream?

2. What is his dream about the “Golden Country”?

3. What does he remember about the big events of the past? Bombs? Past wars?


4. Explain the Party slogan, “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.”


5. Describe Winston’s job. How does he control the past?

6. What special literature, music and entertainment is produced for the proletariat (proles)?

7. What is the significance of Comrade Ogilvy?

Chapters 5-7
1. What is the problem with obtaining razor blades?

2. What is revealed about Inner Party philosophy in the discussion between Winston and Syme?
3. Parsons brags about his children for doing what?

4. What is the significance of the telescreen announcement and what are Winston’s feelings about the present time after he hears the announcement?

5. What is the purpose of marriage in the State?

6. How does Winston view the proles and how are they controlled?

7. What is the story of Aaronson, Jones and Rutherford and why is this story meaningful for Winston?

Chapter 8
1. What is life like in the proles’ end of London?

2. What does Winston discover at Mr. Charrington’s shop?

3. What does Winston think about when he sees the dark-haired girl outside Mr. Charrington’s shop?

4. Why does Winston wonder about church bells ringing in London?

Book Two
Chapter 1
1. How does Winston react to the note from Julia before he reads it? What is his reaction after he reads it?

2. How do they manage to meet?

3. Describe the “parade” in victory Square. Why does the Inner Party provide the spectacle for the proles? For the Outer Party members?

Chapter 2
1. Why is Winston ill at ease once he is alone with Julia?

2. What does Julia bring with her that she has obtained on the black market?

3. What familiar sign does Winston find?

4. What is the significance of the thrush music?

Chapter 3
1. What is Julia’s job? Describe her background.

2. What is her attitude toward the Inner Party?

3. Describe Winston’s marriage.

Chapter 4
1. How does Winston react to the singing prole woman?



2. What pleasure of the senses are mentioned in this chapter? What is Orwell’s point in mentioning them?


3. What is Winston’s reaction to the rats? What is Julia’s reaction?

4. Winston sees the coral paperweight as a symbol of what?

Chapter 5-6
1. Who has vanished?

2. Describe the preparations for Hate Week. In what ways does the Inner Party excel in building spirit?


3. Explain the differences between Winston and Julia.

4. What finally convinces Winston that O’Brien is a member of the Brotherhood?

Chapter 7
1. What does Winston remember about his family and his relationship with his mother?

2. What does Winston realize about love and loyalty as a result of his dream?

3. What is the difference between confessional and betrayal?

Chapter 8-9 (through page 151)
1. Contrast the living quarters and style of the Inner Party members with those of the Outer Party members and proles.


2. How does O’Brien test Julia and Winston?

3. What information does O’Brien give them about the Brotherhood?
4. How will O’Brien get The Book to Winston?

5. What are ways in which the Inner Party builds spirit during Hate Week?

Book Three
Chapter 1
1. Where is Winston?

2. Which of Winston’s acquaintances is in the same place and why?

3. What happens between the starving man and the chinless man?

4. What effect do the words, “Room 101” have on the skull-faced man?

5. Who is O’Brien and what do he and Charrington have in common?

Chapter 2
1. Describe Winston’s treatment.

2. O’Brien explains how the Inner Party avoids the mistakes of past totalitarian governments. State in your own words what O’Brien means.




3. What effect does the (painless) shock treatment have on Winston?

4. What questions does Winston ask O’Brien and what are the responses?

Chapter 3
1. According to O’Brien, what are the three stages in Winston’s re-integration, and which stage is he about to enter?

2. Who wrote Goldstein’s book? Is what the book says true?

3. Why does the Inner Party seek power?

4. Explain the slogan, “Freedom is Slavery.”

5. Why does Winston feel he is morally superior to O’Brien, and how does O’Brien prove that Winston is wrong?

6. What good thing can Winston say about himself at the end of this chapter?

7. How does Winston feel about O’Brien? Why?

8. What final question does Winston ask O’Brien?

Chapter 4-5
1. How has Winston’s environment changed? What does he do with his time? How does he show his obedience to the Inner Party?

2. How does Winston show he is not entirely true to Big Brother? Explain his feelings about big Brother.

3. What happens in Room 101 and how does this “cure” Winston?

Chapter 6
1. What is the setting for this chapter?

2. What is Winston’s job?

3. How did the meeting with Julia go?

4. Cite evidence that proves Winston is a different person? Include page numbers.



5. Explain what is happening in the last two paragraphs of the book.
















Vocabulary

Look up each word in the dictionary. Write the correct definition for the way the word is used in the sentence. Write the proper part of speech. Write the word correctly in a sentence.

1. Sanguine (6)

2. Eddies (6)

3. Strident (10)

4. Nebulous (12)

5. Senile (14)

6. Clandestinely (15)

7. Lucid (16)

8. Entrails (18)

9. Statuesque (134)

10. Fecundity (154)

11. Spurious (159)

12. Inimical (163)

13. Equilibrium (166)

14. Irreconcilable (166)

15. Adherents (167)

16. Parasitical (167)

17. Fraternity (167)

18. Truncheons (189)

19. Lethargy (190)
20. Desultorily (191)

21. Servile (192)

22. Sententiously (192)

23. Insidious (192)

24. Doleful (193)

25. Emaciation (194)

26. Rotund (199)

27. Wantonness (209)