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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 fell on Colchester?

3. What does Mrs. Parsons want Winston to do in Part 1, Chapter 2?

4. In Part 1, Chapter 7, Winston wonders, as he had many times before, if he is a _________.

5. What is the name of Winston's "friend" who works at the Research Department?

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. Why doesn't Winston kill the girl with the dark hair? Who else doesn't he kill for very similar reasons?

3. 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?

4. What does Part 1, Chapter 1 show the reader about the quality of Oceania's services and products?

5. Where does Winston work, and what is his job? Why does he have to do this?

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

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

8. In your own words, how does Winston describe Mr. Parsons?

9. The sandy-haired woman in the cubicle next to Winston spends all day deleting any record of people who have been "vaporized," even though her own husband had been killed this way. How do you think she felt when she deleted her own husband's name? Why does she continue to do this job?

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

It can be said that Winston is tragically flawed due to his continued defiance of the rules of Oceania. His actions will eventually lead to his downfall.

Think deeply about yourself and your actions. Do you know someone who has a tragic flaw, or do you yourself have one? Write an essay explaining the flaw, why you consider it to be a problem, some examples demonstrating it, and how you think you or the other person can change to fix the flaw. Remember to keep within the definition of "tragic flaw," and avoid simply writing about something that you don't like about yourself or another person.

Essay Topic 2

The ideology of the Party is both extremely sophisticated and highly dangerous. If you had the opportunity to be a "Big Brother," what type of society would you design? Write a short essay (manifesto) detailing the ideology, government, rules, practices, and other elements of your fictional nation. Be sure to explain:

1) Why you think the system would work.

2) What dangers your ideology would face, and how they could be overcome.

3) Why your system is morally acceptable.

Essay Topic 3

Privacy is a highly relevant issue in the modern world. Possibilities for surveillance and citizen control have expanded significantly since George Orwell's time, and this trend frequently inspires references in the news and pop culture to Nineteen Eighty-Four. Write an essay on the topic of privacy, stating:

1) What privacy means to you.

2) The importance of privacy to a society as a whole.

3) Your opinion on the current debate over privacy, security, terrorism, and the constitution.

(see the answer keys)

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