1984- summer reading Flashcards
Who is the author of 1984?
George Orwell
Why is the title significant to the book?
The book is set in 1984 although written in 1948, just a few years after world war II.
Who is Winston?
Winston Smith- a 39-year-old man who works in ministry of truth. He remembers a time before the current government regime and idolizes the past. He is in poor health and looks older than he is. Although he is always aware he is being watched, his internal monologue is seditious and revolutionary.
Who is Julia?
Julia- young woman who works in ministry of truth. She secretly despises the party, like Winston, but on the outside looks like an obedient member of the party. Julia’s rebellion is centered not on revolution or changing the world, but on personal desires like exploring her sexuality and living her life as she pleases. Julia invents her love for Winston as a way of convincing herself that her relationship with him is genuine and the result of her own choices.
Who is O’Brien?
O’Brien is initially introduced as Winston’s superior at the Ministry and a high-ranking member of the Party. Winston suspects that O’Brien sympathizes with the resistance, and is thrilled when he discovers (or believes he discovers) that O’Brien is a member of the Brotherhood. O’Brien later appears at Winston’s jail cell and participates in Winston’s torture, and tells Winston that he purposely lured Winston into betrayal.
Who is Syme?
The closest thing Winston has to a friend. He is very intelligent and Winston believes that he will go missing because of his intelligence and he is right.
Who is Syme?
Winston’s co-worker at the Ministry is the closest thing to a friend that Winston has. Winston predicts he will disappear because of his intelligence, which turns out to be correct. Syme is intelligent and thus dangerous and never seen again, while Winston is allowed back into society after he is broken because Winston never actually represented any real danger.
Who is Mr. Charrington?
Appearing initially as a kind old man who rents Winston a private room and sells him some interesting antiques, Mr. Charrington is later revealed to be a member of the Thought Police who has been setting Winston up for arrest from the very beginning. Charrington thus contributes to the level of deception that the Party engages in and to the fact that Winston and Julia’s fates are completely controlled from the very beginning.
Who is Big Brother?
The symbol of The Party, a middle-aged man depicted on posters and other official materials, there is no certainty that Big Brother exists as a person in Orwell’s universe. He is likely an invention and a propaganda tool. His main presence in the novel is as a looming figure on posters, and as part of the mythology of the Party, as “Big Brother is Watching You.” What is interesting is that these ubiquitous posters strike those who support the Party as somewhat comforting, seeing Big Brother as a protective uncle, while people like Winston see him as an ominous, threatening figure.
Who is Emmanuel Goldstein?
The leader of The Brotherhood, the resistance organization working to foment revolution against the Party. Like Big Brother, Emmanuel Goldstein seems to be an invention used to trap resistors like Winston, although it is possible he does exist, or did exist and has been co-opted by the Party. The lack of certainty is emblematic of the way the Party has corrupted knowledge and objective facts, and the same disorientation and confusion experienced by Winston and Julia regarding Goldstein’s existence or nonexistence are felt by the reader. This is a particularly effective technique that Orwell uses in the novel.
Where does the story take place?
In the nation of Oceania
Inciting Incident
when Winston begins to write his subversive thoughts in his diary. He begins to think of himself as “already dead,” suggesting he has abandoned the impulse for self-preservation, and his life has little value to him, making him ready to sacrifice it for a cause.
Climax of novel
Winston’s torture with the cage of rats in Room 101
Falling action
Winston’s time in the café following his release from prison, including the memory of his meeting with Julia at the end of Book Three
Rising Action
The rising action includes Winston’s infatuation and affair with Julia and his diary entries
