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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 is the last line of the rhyme in Part 2, Chapter 8?

2. Julia is only a rebel __________.

3. What makes Winston cry in Part 3, Chapter 6?

4. How does one man assert his power over another, as stated in Part 3, Chapter 3?

5. What will happen thirty seconds after Winston leaves O'Brien's house?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Winston betray Julia? What is the significance of this?

2. What is the most important theme of Nineteen Eighty-Four, and why?

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

4. What does Winston admire about his mother?

5. Describe the forced-labor camps, according to the common criminals.

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

7. What does Winston think the Party and the Ministry of Love can never do? Why?

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

9. 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?

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

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

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 3

Limits on power are often referred to as "checks and balances." Write an essay on this subject, touching upon:

1) The checks and balances that exist in the U.S. Constitution.

2) Some examples of checks and balances that have succeeded or failed.

3) Your vision of what the ideal system of checks and balances would look like.

(see the answer keys)

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