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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. Why did Parsons' daughter report a man to the police?

2. What device is used to write songs?

3. Of what do Winston and Julia not discuss the possibility?

4. Who spoils Winston's plans to sit with the dark-haired girl in Part 2, Chapter 1?

5. What is Winston's nickname for his wife?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. "All history was a palimpsest, scraped clean and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary." What is a palimpsest, and why do you think the author used this word?

3. Why will no Party woman wear perfume?

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

5. How would you have reacted to the note? What would you have done differently, and why?

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. Why does the Party turn a blind eye to prostitution? What type of sex will it not allow?

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

9. What is unusual about Winston's telescreen, and why is it important?

10. Why does Winston think Syme will be vaporized? What does Syme lack?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Julia's attitude towards sex is extremely appealing to Winston. He admires that she has had many partners because it represents a kind of victory for him against the "purity" of the Party.

Write an essay explaining your attitude towards promiscuity. Is it immoral? And when, if ever, is it justified? In your conclusion, be sure to state whether or not you think the attitude towards sex in America should change.

Essay Topic 2

The slogan of the Oceania's government is "WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH." Any act of independent thought, even writing a diary, are punishable by death. Explain the difference between life in America and life in Oceania. Are there any similarities? In your conclusion, write about some ways in which the American people can ensure that future governments do not abuse citizens like in Nineteen-Eighty-Four.

Essay Topic 3

What makes us human?

1) Explain what you think the most important element of "being human" is. It can be an emotion, or human characteristic such as the need for expression or the ability to love.

2) Provide examples from the real world showing individuals and how they have used that emotion or human aspect to change the world.

3) Explain how you think this human element will change the world in the future.

(see the answer keys)

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