Nineteen Eighty-Four Extract Two

Comprehension Answers
1. What is the effect of the extract’s opening line?

The opening line puts us on immediate alert. The command to raise your hands is
characteristic of the police, leading readers to momentarily think that Winston’s
thought crimes have been uncovered. Even once we know it’s a child’s yell, the tone
and volume of the ‘savage voice’ still retains a menace.
2. Who or what do you think the Spies are?

The Spies is a youth organisation that indoctrinates children and trains them to spy on
their elders, like a malevolent version of the scouting movement.
3. What simile is used to describe the children’s behaviour and what is the effect of it?

Orwell describes it as ‘like the gambolling of tiger cubs which will soon grow up into
man-eaters’. The word ‘gambolling’ sounds playful and the image of youthful innocence
is reinforced by the description of the children as ‘cubs’. However, the reminder that
cute tiger cubs grow into ‘man-eaters’ alerts readers again to the danger that the
children pose.
4. What does Winston notice about Mrs Parsons and why is this significant?

Winston notices both the dust and ‘the look of helpless fright on the woman’s greyish
face’. These are manifestations of the fatigue and the squalor she feels from trying
to maintain a respectable existence in the oppressive society of Oceania, especially
when confronted by the frightful knowledge that it is only a matter of time before her
children denounce her.
5. What is meant by ‘symptoms of unorthodoxy’?

This refers to any display of behaviour or thought that is outside of the strict social
doctrines. The word ‘symptoms’ gives the impression that not conforming is a kind of
illness.
6. How does Orwell show his opinion of children betraying their parents and how does this
compare to official accounts?

Orwell’s opinion is evident in the pejorative term ‘eavesdropping little sneak’. However,
this contrasts starkly with the Times’ complimentary description of anyone who informs
on their own parents as a ‘child hero’.

Extension
What is your personal response to the actions of these children?
There is no right or wrong answer to this but respondents should explain their viewpoint
with reference to the text and prior learning.