ENGL 1805: Satire and Humor Seminar
Professor Sigler

Reading and Discussion Guide for George Orwell's 1984

1. What characterizes the settings of 1984? How are they described? Is the setting futuristic?

2. How is 1984's protagonist Winston Smith characterized (how is he described, what motivates him, what is important to him)? In what ways does he attempt to rebel against Big Brother? What motivates his rebellion?

3. What does the glass paper weight symbolize to him?

4. How are the Proles characterized? Why does Winston see them as the only hope for the future?

5. What are some ways that the government exerts control over the people?

6. What are some examples of the three principles of Ingsoc (Newspeak, doublethink, the mutability of the past) at work in 1984? How does the government use these principles to control the people of Oceana?

7. What social tendencies does Orwell use Ingsoc to satirize?

8. What are some examples of "doublethink" in Winston’s world? Why is doublethink such a powerful means of controlling people?

9. How is Julia characterized? Are her motives for rebelling different from Winston's?

10. What are some of the novel's other examples of paradox, or duality? In what ways is O'Brien a paradoxical figure?

11. We've seen all along that Oceania's citizens are kept perpetually deprived of food and perpetually hungry. Why is this a useful technique to maintain control? Why is the party starving the prisoners? What does hunger symbolize?

12. While imprisoned, Winston also constantly wonders about time--how much time has passed, what time it is, etc. Why is the "Miniluv" set up in such a way as to allow no perception of time?

13. O'Brien tells Winston, "Everyone knows what is in Room 101" (260). What is Room 101, and how does it cause Winston's final loss of identity and will?