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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. With what, according to Orwell, is socialism inextricably connected?
(a) The idea of machine production.
(b) The idea of workers' solidarity.
(c) The idea of better housing and working conditions.
(d) The idea of overthrow of the rich.

2. Where did Orwell go before he turned twenty?
(a) Belfast.
(b) Burma.
(c) Washington D.C.
(d) Sudan.

3. Who was John Galsworthy?
(a) A revolutionary.
(b) A doctor.
(c) A poet.
(d) A playwright.

4. How does a machine evolve in Orwell's opinion?
(a) By becoming more streamlined and smaller.
(b) By achieving perfection.
(c) By becoming obsolete.
(d) By becoming more efficient and more foolproof.

5. What did Orwell say was the primary preoccupation of a single unemployed man in winter?
(a) Finding food.
(b) Keeping warm.
(c) Finding work.
(d) Begging for money.

6. What did Saintsbury say about unemployment insurance?
(a) It was simply "contributing to the poverty of the entire nation."
(b) It was simply "contributing to the support of lazy ne'er-do-wells."
(c) It was simply "a manifestation of the ignorance of capitalism."
(d) It was simply "woefully inadequate to deal with the problem."

7. What did Orwell call "the best example of bourgeois-baiting literature?"
(a) Mirsky's "Intelligentsia of Great Britain."
(b) Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet."
(c) Shaw's "Major Barbara."
(d) Ionesco's "The Bald Soprano."

8. What things did Orwell believe a good writer needed that an unemployed man could not find?
(a) Peace of mind, and a new, modern typewriter.
(b) Peace of mind, and a room of his own to work.
(c) Peace of mind, and extra cash.
(d) Peace of mind, and quiet.

9. What did Orwell believe every unemployed man should be given if he wanted it?
(a) A patch of land and a horse drawn wagon.
(b) A patch of land and one hundred pounds.
(c) A patch of land and tools with which to grow his own food.
(d) A patch of land and a cow.

10. Why did Orwell say Socialism had not taken hold in England despite its common-sense doctrine?
(a) The poor working conditions at the mines.
(b) The lack of political organization in the pary.
(c) The wrong propaganda.
(d) The military police.

11. What class did Orwell say he was born into?
(a) The middle-upper-middle class.
(b) The middle-upper class.
(c) The lower-upper-middle-class.
(d) The lower-middle-upper-class.

12. How did unemployment affect the life of the married man?
(a) Unemployment encouraged men to do housework.
(b) Unemployment raised the crime rate.
(c) Unemployment did not make much difference in the home.
(d) Unemployment drove men to drink.

13. What did Orwell believe was the deeper implications of Socialism?
(a) Socialism stands for democracy and common goals.
(b) Socialism stands for better wages and better working conditions.
(c) Socialism stands for justice and common decency.
(d) Socialism stands for better housing for the working poor.

14. What was a favorite refuge for the unemployed man in Wigan?
(a) The shopping areas.
(b) The alleys.
(c) The movie theatre.
(d) City Hall.

15. What percentage of a person's income, whether employed or on unemployment, was given over to rent in Wigan?
(a) One half.
(b) One fifth.
(c) One fourth.
(d) One third.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Orwell envision a home in the future?

2. Why did Orwell's parents eventually forbid him to play with certain children in the neighborhood?

3. What did Orwell find amazing about the unemployed men he met after returning from Burma?

4. Why did Orwell have the opportunity to receive an expensive public school education?

5. What did Orwell say was the distinguishing mark of the upper-middle class before the war in England?

(see the answer keys)

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