George Orwell Born 1903 in India, grew up in England After school, joined civil service Was a sergeant in the Imperial police force Saw British imperialism first- hand in India, was appalled at the oppression he witnessed Chose to live among the lower classes for one year Became a socialist, moved to Spain, was kicked out by Communist Party Later, he lived on remote island off of Scotland In 1945, wrote Animal Farm, a political satire 1984 published in 1949 He died of tuberculosis in 1950 George Orwell

Dystopian Novel The novel was a response to Totalitarian governments (Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, etc.) A novel of psychological terror that warns us about a future where the government controls everything and individual rights are taken away The world of 1984 is a negative utopia --- a dystopia. dystopia: “bad place”; imaginary world, usually in the future, in which present tendencies are carried out to their intensely unpleasant culuminations from utopia: “ideal place” from the title of a political essay by Sir Thomas More (1516), describing an ideal government Dystopia

Orwellian Orwellian: adjective used to describe a particularly anti- libertarian government policy, but it is also sometimes used to describe the peculiar, nonsensical thought process behind Oceania's social structure--a thought process in which ideas that are obviously self-contradictory are accepted as true based on the fact that an authority figure is asserting them. CURRENT EXAMPLES No Child Left Behind program (which is unfunded and therefore technically leaves children behind) Clear Skies Initiative (which weakens anti-pollution regulations and therefore technically makes skies less clear) “I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace.” George W. Bush Orwellian

All citizens are monitored by telescreens which are present in all homes and workplaces The government is represented by Big Brother, a figure who “sees everything” Setting: Airstrip One, Oceania

Laws are enforced by the Thought Police, who arrest and “vaporize” anyone who even thinks disruptive thoughts History is constantly rewritten so that the predictions of Big Brother will never be wrong Citizens are constantly asked to show their allegiance by engaging in rallies and meetings to support Big Brother Hatred for the enemies of Big Brother is encouraged through the use of propaganda Oceania is constantly at war with other countries

Terms from 1984 Doublethink – the ability to believe two contradictory things at the same time Newspeak – the reduced language of Oceania designed to remove nuance and limit thought Room 101 – torture chamber Thought Police – government survellience agency Thought crime – thinking anti-party thoughts Inner Party/Outer party – those closest to Big Brother and those on the outside Proles – the lower classes who live in a separate part of the city (Proletariat) Memory Hole – alteration of documentation of history Terms from Nineteen Eighty-four

Winston Smith

Thematic Ideas alienation love individuality freedom of thought and Speech importance of language to express truth governmental, corporate control appearance vs. reality, and the discretion to tell the difference questioning authority, patriotism, fascism Thematic, Universal Ideas

Questions to consider as you read This novel predicted one possible future. Are we closer to 1984 today than we were in 1948? In what ways are our thoughts manipulated by government and corporate powers? Who is Big Brother? How is language used to control thoughts? In what ways are we watched and monitored today? How much are you in control of your identity? What would make a 1984-world possible?

Newspeak, Doublethink, and No-brainers energy exploration God bless America PATRIOT Act reality TV fighting for peace jihad / holy war war on terror pro-life whatever! I’m not gonna lie support our troops it’s a no-brainer

OBEY PROPAGANDA Shephard Fairey, Graphic Artist