Common Module Flashcards
C2: The metaphor of the PaperWeight provides
Winston’s love of the past sees him acquire a paperweight that becomes a symbol of his rebellion.
“…not so much its beauty as the air it seemed to possess of belonging to an age quite different from the present one”
For Winston, it represents the past that he longs for, as well as his desire for a connection to a world that existed before the Party’s rise to power
C1: Tone of futility provides insight into Orwell’s reimagining of the
“…every sound you made was overheard…every movement scrutinised”
Power of technology through the two-way telescreens to allude to Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon, to pervert privacy in a modernist paradigm to convey the ramifications of perpetual scrutiny and subjugation.
C1: The power of the Party’s ministry buildings … juxtaposed with …
This creates a…
The power of The Party’s ministry buildings ‘towering white and vast over the grimy landscape’ juxtaposes with the individual as Winston is described as a ‘smallish frail figure with a varicose ulcer.’
This creates a dichotomy between the government and their people as we are made aware of the insignificance of the individual through their decay.
C1: The oxymoron emphasises the fact that …
“no one was obliged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in”
Two Minutes of Hate can stimulate adoration for Big Brother, even in a sceptic such as Winston, mirroring the totalitarian govt’s method in using propaganda as a tool to indoctrinate its citizens
C2: The repetition and capitalisation suggests…
“‘DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER”
Winston’s stream of consciousness suggests he is overcome with powerful emotions as he attempts to reclaim agency. Orwell also represents the destruction of language that contributes to an individual’s communication ability, an essential part of the human experience.
C2: The war imagery shows …
“their embrace had been a battle, the climax of a victory”
Winston and Julia’s animalistic instincts as a battle against the party which provides insight into the human spirits to challenge oppression to maintain humanity.
C1: The repetition of “no” emphasises
‘… no ‘dignity of emotion, no deep or complex sorrows’
a negative world devoid of emotion which showcases the control that the Party has imposed upon Oceania.
C1: The binary opposites
“Always the eye watching you…Asleep or awake, working or eating, indoors or out of doors”
Describe the extent of surveillance in paralleling the totalitarian leadership of both Hitler and Stalin familiar to its 20th-century context of dictators where individual identities are surrendered to the collective benefit of the entire “organisation.”
C3: The visceral imagery of the description of Winston’s examination of his … which provides insight into the
“The barrel of the ribs was as narrow as that of a skeleton…”
Emaciated body in the mirror…futility of rebellion and authority of abusive power regimes that will ultimately destroy humanity and dehumanise the individual no matter the resistance
C3: O’Brien’s vitriolic sermon, “…” denotes …
Winston’s torture and brutalization by the Ministry of Love in Room 101, where he stands in the mirror a broken man following
“You are the last man”
Concept 1
1984 draws attention to the complexities of the human experience in response to oppressive regimes which gives insight into a desolate world that contributes to the decay of humanity. Through his description of the setting Orwell had constructed a dystopian society that has destroyed individualism and human connection. The telescreens and Thought Police are the ultimate tool of omnipresent surveillance and act as a physical manifestation of the oppression exerted by the Party.
Concept 2
1984 gives expression to the innate human impulse of resistance and rebellion in response to authoritarian control, enforced conformity and coercion. In doing so. Orwell celebrates the strength of the human spirit to challenge control in a desire to remain human
Concept 3 EXAMPLE 1
Orwell’s ‘1984’ sheds light on the innate human desire for freedom, pure instinctive emotion and rebellion in the face of extreme domination under a totalitarian state. He does so through the characterisation of Winston whose inquisitive nature and yearning for human tenderness makes him the target of the party.
Introduction statement
Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four” draws attention to a society where human qualities are non-existent, and regime control is exercised as a critique of totalitarian regimes such as Stalin’s USSR: a regime built upon the fabrication of history in Stalin’s ‘cult of personality’, and ruthlessly enforced by the secret police, the NKVD.
Module Key Terms
Individual and collective human experience
Human qualities and emotions
Anomalies, paradoxes and inconsistencies in human behaviour and motivations
Aspects of the text which position readers to see the world differently, to challenge assumptions, ignite new ideas or reflect personally
The role of storytelling
