Section One: George Orwell's whakapapa

George Orwell is an English author who lived from 25 June 1903 until 21 January 1950 . One of his most famous novels is 1984 which warns readers of the dangers of a government which only wants to see itself in a golden light and pushes its citizens down by keeping them under watch. It is important to understand who George Orwell was in order to understand his writing.

Pick at LEAST THREE of these sources and be able to write about what motivated George Orwell to write his stories.

Section Two: Important Context for George Orwell

Orwell wrote during a time of major upheaval in Europe. There was a constant power struggle between countries and then between people and their supposed leader.s Read the following links and find out more about the context in which George Orwell writes as this will help you understand his writing better.

Section Three: Close reading 1984

Read 1984 for the first time. As you do, complete this task:

1. Character map - on a piece A3, write down each of the characters as you come across them. Draw arrows between the characters to denote their relationships and add in adjectives that describe each character and at least one quote for each characters.

After completing your first reading of 1984, complete these tasks to set you up for a close analysis.

1. Audience positioning. Write down five words that describe how you feel after reading this book. For example, sad, happy. These adjectives will become your tools for discussing the impact on the audience. So always keep them in front of you.

2. Figure out of the theme. What's this story about? To do this, work through these questions:

   1. Who's the main protagonist?

   2. What challenges do they face?

   3. How do they face these challenges?

   4. How do they change over the course of the narrative?

   5. What main ideas are thrown up by the adventures of the protagonist and what do you learn about these ideas?

3. Some big questions to consider about 1984 (Source: ThoughtCo.)

• What is important about the title of 1984?

• What are the conflicts in 1984? What types of conflict (physical, moral, intellectual, or emotional) are in this novel?

• How does George Orwell reveal character in 1984?

• What are some themes in the story? How do they relate to the plot and characters?

• What are some symbols in 1984? How do they relate to the plot and characters?

• Is Winston consistent in his actions? Is he a fully developed character? How? Why?

• Do you find the characters likable? Would you want to meet the characters?

• Does the story end the way you expected? How? Why?

• What is the central/primary purpose of the story? Is the purpose important or meaningful?

• How does this novel relate to dystopian literature? Is Winston a strong character?

• How essential is the setting to the story? Could the story have taken place anywhere else? In any other time?

• What is the role of women in the text? Is love relevant? Are relationships meaningful?

• Why is 1984 controversial? Why has it been banned?

• How does 1984 relate to contemporary politics/society?

• Would you recommend this novel to a friend?

• Why do you think words like Big Brother and Newspeak have entered into our everyday lexicon?

• What, if anything, scares you about the future Orwell describes? Why or why not?

• How is "doublethink" used in the novel? Do you think it could or is used in our current society?

• Do you think it's important that Oceana is constantly at war with someone? What point do you think Orwell is trying to make?

• How does the age difference between Julia and Winston affect how they view the actions of Big Brother and the government? Do you see differences like this in your own life?

• How is technology used by Big Brother and the Party? Does it remind you of any current technological issues?

• If you were in Room 101, what would be waiting for you?

• What is the significance of the name Ministry of Love?

• How is sexual repression used to oppress the people of Oceana? Are there examples of this kind of oppression in the real world?

• How are characters brainwashed in the novel? Do you think this sort of brainwashing can happen in real life?

• What warnings can we take from Orwell's novel?

4. Think about which chapter you remember best. It is now time to reread this chapter, thinking about these things as you go:

• 1. What is the title of the chapter?

  2. Who is the main protagonist of this chapter? What are they doing, thinking about, reacting to?

  3. Identify TEN main quotes from this chapter - note these and justify why you have chosen each one.

  4. Identify language features that the author employs in this chapter and explain why you think she used it.

Resources to help you analyse the story

Section Four: Some other takes on 1984 - stretching your thinking

It's important to stretch your thinking on your book by reading some other people's interpretations of it. Have a read of these reviews and interpretations and then complete these questions:

• What do your reviews say about your text?

• What do the reviews say about the theme and characters?

• What do the reviews say about why the book was written?

• What questions do you start to think about as you read these reviews?

Doublethink is stronger than Orwell Imagined; What 1984 means today - George Packer

1984 by George Orwell - review

The Masterpiece that killed George Orwell - Robert McCrum

'1984' at seventy: why we still read Orwell's book of prophecy - Louis Menand

1984 by George Orwell, book of a lifetime: An absorbing, deeply affecting political thriller - Jonathon Freedland

Section Five: Research

Below are the Level Two and Three research options. Work with your teacher to ensure that you are on the right pathway.

Level Two Research

Level Two research asks you to pull an issue out of your text and learn more about it so that it increases your understanding of your text. Click this link to find out what you need to do.

Level Three Unit Standard Written Texts Research

Level Three Unit Standard research asks you to use articles and book reviews to learn more about the author and what they are writing about so that it increases your understanding of your text. Click this link to find out what you need to do.

Level Three Achievement Standard Critical Texts Research

We are now going to stretch our thinking of the text by engaging in critical text research. What this means is that we read how experts have interpreted, understood and thought about the text so that we can understand better ourselves. Below are some critical texts that relate to this text and to understand what the research project is asking you to do (as well as how to do it), click here.

The following are critical texts that relate to Tu. Some will have a direct link, naming the novel directly, and others will be linked by the insight they provide about the background or motivation of the author to write her story.

In no way should you read all of these, cover to cover. You need to be more strategic; look at the titles, read the contents page to pick which sections of the book are best to read, skim and scan to identify sections of chapters that you need to read closely and take notes from - look for keywords from your questions, use subheadings to identify relevant sections.

Not all of these critical texts will answer your questions; so look for the ones that do. Pick three to four to read and take notes from.

Also, if you find that you aren't answering one of your questions, and/or your reading is taking you in a new and unexpected direction, simply change your questions and hypothesis in line with what you are reading - this is what research is; learning and changing what you think as you learn more.

• Rook, Olivia. (2016). Surveillance, Regulation and Selfhood in George Orwell’s 1984 (1949) and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985).

• Rissanen, Kristoffer. (2014). Nineteen Eighty Four and the Ideology of Hate.

• Al-Subaihi, Mohammed Nusr. ( 2020). Orwell's 1984 and the concept of Powerlessness.

• Rooney, Brigid. (No date). Narrative viewpoint and the representation of power in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four