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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 everybody do when tortured?

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

3. Does Winston believe in God?

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

5. Who will meet Winston if O'Brien isn't home?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to Goldstein's book, why is a state of perpetual war necessary? For what purpose?

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

3. How does Winston feel about physical pain? How does this relate to what you know about Winston's character?

4. What does O'Brien say is the real reason the Party seeks power? How are they different from past governments?

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

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

7. 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?

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

9. What are the two ultimate goals of the Party? What are they waiting for, and why?

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

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

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

The Party relies on two key human attributes to guarantee their power - ignorance and fear. The fear comes from the power of Big Brother and the Thought Police to kill anyone, at anytime. The ignorance comes from the failure of the majority of citizens in Oceania to understand the inherent lies of Ingsoc.

Which attribute, fear or ignorance, do you feel is the most important and useful to the Party? Write an essay explaining your thoughts, and try to use real-world examples of governments who have ruled through fear, ignorance, or both.

(see the answer keys)

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