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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What was the number of people underfed in England based on Orwell's calculations?
(a) Over eleven million.
(b) Over twenty million.
(c) Under seven million.
(d) Over ten million.

2. When Orwell said he was "advocatus diaboli" what did he mean?
(a) He was certain the devil was keeping the masses away from Socialism.
(b) He was being the devil's advocate for the sake of argument.
(c) He knew the devil was in the details of the propaganda campaigns.
(d) He did not really believe in Socialism.

3. What was "the flock mattress?"
(a) A playground in Wigan that looked like a choppy sea frozen in place.
(b) A playground in Wigan that looked like a bird sanctuary.
(c) A playground in Wigan that had a baseball field.
(d) A playground in Wigan that looked like a hockey arena.

4. What did Orwell cite as a reason class hatred seemed to be diminishing in the late 1930's?
(a) These opinions of hatred were not in print anymore.
(b) These opinions of hatred were not real anymore.
(c) These opinions of hatred were those of only old men.
(d) These opinions of hatred were those of only the upper classes.

5. How did unemployment affect the life of the married man?
(a) Unemployment did not make much difference in the home.
(b) Unemployment raised the crime rate.
(c) Unemployment encouraged men to do housework.
(d) Unemployment drove men to drink.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Orwell find amazing about the unemployed men he met after returning from Burma?

2. How was unemployment viewed by people in the late twenties and early thirties in England?

3. Who did Orwell go to hear speak while he was in Sheffield?

4. What were the "Clothing Clubs?"

5. Where did Orwell go before he turned twenty?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Orwell consider Socialism a way out of the social and economic conditions plaguing England in the 1930's? How did he present his argument?

2. What was the Means Test? Why did people dislike the Means Test?

3. Orwell described the view from a street in Sheffield. Describe what he saw when he looked around the town.

4. What did Orwell identify as the two methodologies for abolishing the class system in England? Why did he believe neither of these two to be viable?

5. How did Orwell argue against the common misconception that the poor and unemployed are simply lazy?

6. What was "scrambling for the coal?"

7. What was a "shabby-genteel" family in Orwell's opinion? What were some of the characteristics of a shabby-genteel family?

8. Where did Orwell go to live for five years when he was twenty? What were the difference in class distinctions he observed there?

9. What story did Orwell relate about the beer bottle? How did this support his dislike of the working class body? How did he say he was able to overcome this dislike?

10. What was the employment situation in Wigan and Sheffield, the two towns Orwell wrote about?

(see the answer keys)

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