1. Home learning – Thurs 1 Feb
Read the next 4 chapters of 1984.
Complete your reading log as you go.

2. Nineteen Eighty Four L.O.
To consider how Orwell creates a Dystopian atmosphere in the opening of 1984.
To continue to identify and analyse Dystopian features.

3. How Dystopian… clocks were striking thirteen a swirl of gritty dust
Rank these quotes from Which is the most ‘Dystopian’ to the least. Be prepared to explain your choices.
clocks were striking thirteen
a swirl of gritty dust
smelt of boiled cabbage
man of about forty-five, with a heavy black moustache
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU

4. Get creative clocks were striking thirteen a swirl of gritty dust
In pairs, write your own opening of a story which has to include the following phrases:
clocks were striking thirteen
a swirl of gritty dust
smelt of boiled cabbage
man of about forty-five, with a heavy black moustache
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU

5. Close analysis
‘Nineteen Eighty – Four’ – George Orwell
It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him. The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats. At one end of it a coloured poster, too large for indoor display, had been tacked to the wall. It depicted simply an enormous face, more than a metre wide: the face of a man of about forty-five, with a heavy black moustache and ruggedly handsome features. Winston made for the stairs. It was no use trying the lift. Even at the best of times it was seldom working, and at present the electric current was cut off during daylight hours. It was part of the economy drive in preparation for Hate Week. The flat was seven flights up, and Winston, who was thirty-nine and had a varicose ulcer above his right ankle, went slowly, resting several times on the way. On each landing, opposite the lift-shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran.
Using your Dystopian Features Checklist, analyse the opening.
What techniques does Orwell use to create a dystopian atmosphere?

6. Slogans
WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH What do you think the Party slogans mean? What makes them Dystopian? You can also referred to as maxims.
Maxims

7. Chapter 1
Start reading Chapter 1 of ‘1984’ as a whole class. As you read, make a note of all of the Dystopian features that Orwell uses. You might like to use these headings:
New/made up words
Methods of control
Protagonist
Unusual events
Fear

8. How Dystopian?
How Dystopian is the opening of 1984? How does it compare to other Dystopian texts you have read? How does it compare to The Handmaid’s Tale?