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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 are people brought to the Ministry of Love?

2. In Part 3, Chapter 6, what does Winston have plenty of these days?

3. What were the police holding when they arrested Winston and Julia?

4. How does Winston feel towards Big Brother?

5. According to Part 2, Chapter 7, what remains impregnable?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Winston think O'Brien will say is the reason the Party seeks power?

2. What is unusual about O'Brien? Do you think he can be trusted? Why or why not?

3. At the end of Part 2, Chapter 5, what does Winston realize about the Party and their orthodoxy? How does this relate to the everyday citizens of Oceania?

4. Why might George Orwell have made the book's conclusion so tragic? What is he trying to express?

5. According to O'Brien, where does reality exist?

6. What "progress" has Winston made by Part 3, Chapter 4? What does Winston have to do before his re-education is complete?

7. When questioned by O'Brien, Winston and Julia state that they are willing to commit many crimes, including the killing of innocent people. Do you think this is justifiable, given the terrible nature of the Party?

8. How can Winston still achieve victory over the Party in Part 3, Chapter 4?

9. What does Winston's betrayal reveal about his character? What do you think of him now?

10. What is the significance of O'Brien's reference to Syme?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the most important warnings in Nineteen-Eighty-Four is that the past can be erased and history can be changed. "Who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present controls the past."

Write a short essay on a real historical event about which historians disagree. Be sure to show both sides, and in the conclusion, explain what you think really happened and why.

Essay Topic 2

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.

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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