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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 did Orwell say was the distinguishing mark of the upper-middle class before the war in England?

2. Where did Orwell first go to sleep with the beggars and criminals of the working class?

3. What did the Socialists think of the occupational centers?

4. Who did Orwell believe was doing the best work for the unemployed in the thirties?

5. Who was Comrade X?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Orwell think the working class people were rarely pure Socialists?

2. What one overarching generalization was Orwell taught about the lower classes of people in his town? What author did Orwell quote in support of this theory, and what did the author say?

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

4. 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?

5. How did Orwell's time in the military police effect his thinking about government and oppression?

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

7. 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?

8. What was "scrambling for the coal?"

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

10. What does the statement by Napoleon "an army marches on its stomach" mean in context of life in industrialized England?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Orwell believed that as economies become more depressed, class distinctions become more pronounced. Do you think this was true in pre-war England? What was the economy like in the 1930's? Based on what we have experienced here in the last four years, do you believe that class distinctions are greater as our economy has become depressed? Discuss.

Essay Topic 2

There is an inherent conflict on Socialism between the advancement of the machine state and industrialization and the working man's job. How did Orwell address this conflict? How did he believe Socialism should address the conflict? Do you believe the two--the machine state and the working man--are by nature at odds with each other? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Orwell described the working class man and said "he does not act. He is acted upon." Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? Use examples from the reading.

(see the answer keys)

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