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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does one of the Parsons children use to hit Winston in the neck?

2. What do Mrs. Parsons' children want to see in Part 1, Chapter 2?

3. What organization supplied comforts to the sailors on the Floating Fortress?

4. What is the resistance to the Party called?

5. What does Julia think is behind the picture in Part 2, Chapter 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do the Parsons children want to go see in Part 1, Chapter 2? What do you think of them?

2. Look up the word "proletariat" in the dictionary. What does it mean? Why does the Party ignore the proles? Is this strange?

3. Why do you think Winston was unable to prevent himself from having sex with the prostitute?

4. Why does Winston keep thinking about O'Brien? What does O'Brien represents to Winston?

5. How does the dark-haired girl's note affect Winston? Has it changed his outlook?

6. Winston feels the worst things about life in Oceania are not its "cruelty and insecurity," but "its bareness, its dinginess, its listlessness." Why might he feels this way?

7. When Winston was young, he and his family had to take shelter in a subway station because London was being attacked. An old man was crying, "We didn't ought to have trusted them." Who should not have trusted?

8. Why are the proles the only force capable of overthrowing the Party?

9. Explain Julia's attitude towards the Party. What does this reveal about her character?

10. Look up the word "comrade" up in a dictionary. Why do you think everyone in Oceania is supposed to call each other comrade?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Love is one of the most fundamental human emotions. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, love and sexual affection are outlawed so that citizens will reserve their love for Big Brother. Write an essay explaining:

1) Why love is (or is not) important.

2) The ways that love can fundamentally change a person's life.

3) Whether or not love can really "conquer all." Examples, both literary and real, are encouraged.

Essay Topic 2

Revolutions are not simple things. Many revolutions end up being "betrayed," as the government that follows the revolution often ends up being very different from how the revolutionaries originally intended. In the book, Big Brother turns against the other architects of the revolution, discredits them, and has them executed. The Party of Winston's day bears little resemblance to the society that its founders imagined, at least from Winston's perspective.

Find a real-world example of a revolution that you think has been "betrayed," showing the difference between what the revolutionaries originally intended and what eventually happened. If there is some historical disagreement about the revolution, be sure to show both sides of the argument in addition to your own thoughts.

Essay Topic 3

Winston has a terrible fear of pain. He hates it more than anything else and is willing to do almost anything in order to avoid pain. Write an essay on pain, and Winston's experience with it. Be sure to cover:

1) How pain influences Winston throughout the book.

2) Possible reasons why Winston fears pain so much.

3) Possible ways that Winston could have controlled his fear of pain.

4) How your attitude towards pain is similar or different to that of Winston.

(see the answer keys)

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