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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. When Winston sees the prostitute in the light, he sees that she is _____.

2. Where does Winston work?

3. Katharine has two names for sex. One is "making a baby." What is the other?

4. What is written on the flag that keeps flapping?

5. Who is Julia?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What might the woman singing in the street symbolizes?

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. "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?

5. How does Winston really feel about Big Brother and the Party?

6. What is the difference between Winston and Julia's feelings about their future?

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

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

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

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Oceania, children are encouraged to spy on their parents and turn them in to the Thought Police if they notice any "suspicious behavior." Would you ever turn your parents over to the police? Why or why not? In what situation would you do it? What alternatives would you have?

Essay Topic 2

Fear is a common theme in literature, and a motivating factor for many characters. Write an essay that shows at least two examples of fear in literature, touching upon:

1) The type of fear, be it personal, fear for the safety of others, fear of pain, etc.

2) How the characters overcame the fear, or were overcome by it.

3) The source of the fear, and its relation to the main character.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,112 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample