1984 by George Orwell

Lorraine Cella
Westwood High School,
Washington Township, NJ 

"You only have power over people so long as you don't take everything away from them.  But when you've robbed a man of everything he's no longer in your power - he's free again."  Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Overarching questions:  

•  How does this novel represent power?  What "interplays" of power are represented?
• How are the powerful portrayed?  How are those without power portrayed? 
• Who are silenced and who are heard? 
• How does this novel represent class and class distinction?
• What insights into the "nature" of politics does this novel offer?  
• What does propaganda mean? How can we separate it from "truth"?

Themes: Power; Class; Politics; Truth vs. Untruth; Propaganda; Interpersonal relationships; Use (Abuse) of Language.

Who are the silenced?  Keep a list of the names of characters who have small parts in the story.

Write a narrative from the point of view of one of the characters who is "silenced."  Create his/her history, social positioning, "inner-self,"  etc.