1984 (by George Orwell)

Part I Chapters I-II

I. Vocabulary
Chapter I
to smell of sth treachery
to tack sth to sth to hatch sth (a plot/plan/deal)
it is no use doing sth to be rumoured
ulcer to be taken by sth
fruity voice (BrE) to denounce sth
there is no way of doing sth a parody of sth
blunt (of a knife, pencil, razor blade) to be at war/peace with sb
to hover (over / above sth) to despise sb
to dart away dupe
to snoop (about/around) / to snoop on sb if at all
to babble (away) (about sth) frenzy
guesswork (e.g. sth is guesswork; there’s a lot of to shout at the top of one’s voice
guesswork in sth) in an effort to do sth
unintelligible to join in
in sight sb’s heart goes to sb/sth
to scatter sth about sth to flash through one’s mind
maze to bury one’s face in one’s hands
barbed wire delirium
truncheon to do otherwise
a hunk of sth to catch sb’s eye
to give off a smell snatches of conversation
to die down (of gossip, pain, emotion) scribble
crumpled to set about doing sth
for some reason half a page
junk shop a twinge of sth (e.g. panic, pain, guilt, jealousy)
to be stricken by sth to be bound to do
to get hold of sth to be ashamed of sth/sb
to write with a nib
to falter Chapter II
to pin sth down to draw (in) one’s breath
to come home to sb to be falling to pieces
to blare trampled-on look
flick dog-eared
to suffer from cramp full to the brim
to know sb by sight to start sb doing sth
sash to look on
to bring sth out drudge
bigot to evict sb
adherent of sth / to adhere to sth to fiddle with sth
nose sth out to denounce sb to sb
to have a dim idea of sth pitch-dark
to verify sth to be reduced to ashes
to set sb’s teeth on edge to wipe sth out of existence / out of memory
renegade to entail sth
backslider zealot
traitor sandpaper
Discussion questions:

1. What bothers Winston?

2. What is wrong with his society?
3. What are the three slogans of the Inner Party?
4. What are the four ministries?
5. How does the Two Minute Hate work?
6. What happens to Winston during the chant?
7. What happens between O’Brien and Winston?
8. During the film, how did the audience react?
9. What is "thoughtcrime"?
10. What is free thought? Is free thought different from free speech?
11. What are the Thought Police?
12. Who are the Parsons and what do they represent?
13. What is the rhetorical effect of the physical description of Mrs. Parsons?
14. How do the Parsons’ children behave?
15. What is Winston's dream about O’Brien?
16. What is announced in the news?
17. Big Brother does not allow party members to read and write for pleasure because it promotes
independent thought. Is independent thought dangerous? Defend both yes and no.
18. Who or what is government? What does—or what must—government do? What different kinds of
governments are there in the world today? How does government affect you personally? Are there
ways in which government or the private sector intrudes upon the privacy Ukrainian citizens? What
are some of these ways? Do laws protect your freedom or inhibit it?
19. Discuss the Party’s slogan, “War is Peace.” In Oceania, what is the purpose of war? How can war
actually bring Peace? Where is this war fought? Who fights in it? Who is dropping rocket bombs on
London? Why does the government want this war to continue? How is this policy true today?