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THEMES & IDEAS IN 1984 George Orwell &"Nineteen Eighty-Four": The Man and the Book. A Conference at the Library of Congress, April 30 and May 1, 1984. LINK An Introduction: Structure And Meaning Internal and External Conflict in 1984 LINK What’s up with chocolate in the novel? Is it a symbol of something? Some young people and others inexperienced in life and history might finish reading 1984 with a sense that the novel is more science fiction than historical fiction. In other words, some naïve readers might understand the book as a very dark but largely exaggerated depiction of life as it could be in the future (even though set in the year 1984) , but not as life in some places actually is today or has been in the past. Take these people on and prove their error to them. Demonstrate the reality of the book, how it accurately portrays not what people are capable of doing but what they have already done or experienced. What specific evidence can you point to of real present-day or past human activities, societies, cultures, “systems,” that correspond to some feature of 1984? Loyalty and Betrayal Appearances and Reality Government & Politics: 1984 & George Orwell George Orwell: Politics, Political Thought Politics & Sex in 1984 and elsewhere Europe, history of ever-closer union? Attitude toward foreigners in 1984 and _____ Big Brother Literary Examples of Man's Fear of Machine LINK “The Machine”: Why does it defeat Winston Smith? Technology Orwellian trends (technology, society, government, entertainment, etc.) from technology, history of the quality of life Society, Social Institutions Sex/marriage in 1984 & ___ Availability of consumer products in 1984 and ____ Entertainment in 1984 and _____: (maybe focus on violence) Attitude toward foreigners in 1984 and _____ Psychology Psychology of power: Does Orwell have it right? Brainwashing LINK Power Methods of Control in 1984 and Brave New World Concentration of power in 1984 and _____ Psychology of Power: Does Orwell Have it Right? Language and power in 1984 and ____; Use of fear/terror by government on citizens in 1984 and ____ Room 1101 in 1984 and __________. Freedom and Enslavement/Free Will Language Language and power in 1984 and ____; Language & Thought in Orwell & 1984 Verbal Hallucinations and Preconscious Mentality. . . Power and the cult of death in 1984 language manipulation language and government gobbledygook government gobbledygook `government euphemisms/inflated language government abuse of language political correctness, propaganda The Gulf War (or some other event) and official/military language Political slogans, sloganeering Information Control political spin officialese weasel words Chinese net censorship campaign, Game ban petition - Somebody Think Of The Children Power of Prophecy: Rise of Orwellian Doublespeak in the Last Days (2-tape Set) (The) politically correct language: “the destruction of words is a beautiful thing” « Move your Class Bush's Orwellian Address@Everything2.com forums.newspeakdictionary.com :: View topic - Collapse of Ingsoc Google Image Result for http://hem.passagen.se/replikant/ingsoc_paratroopers.JPG Google Image Result for http://tpa.typepad.com/campaign/images/2007/12/18/orwell_2.jpg Lesson Plans: polically correct fairy Tales (all, Literature) Control of Print Media Television Radio Books banned books book burning Libraries control of literature; “state” literature, “official” literature ` printing underground literature Iron Curtain Berlin Wall "This will not be another Viet Nam": how the military handled the media in the Gulf wars If you can't beat 'em, embed 'em: co-opting the media during war Aljazeera vs. Fox News: who has the memory hole? "All the news that we see fit to print": corporate ownership of the US media Media Advertising - FREE Presentations in PowerPoint format, Free Interactives & Games Vanderbilt Television News Archive: Programs broadcast in July 1974 Newspeak The Principles of Newspeak (Appendix from 1984, George Orwell) The Principles Of Newspeak And "Politics And The English Language" Thought Police undercover police Thoughtcrime facecrime telescreen microphones culture of fear Gestapo, Schutzstaffel: SS (Nazi secret police) KGB (USSR intelligence organization/secret police) NKVD USSR intelligence organization/secret police) Tonton acoute (Haitian secret police/militia) Anti-Soviet Activity Enemy of the People Enemy of the State People’s Enemy search and seizure laws or lack thereof the loss of civil liberties during "war," i.e., the Patriot Act 1984 as a warning about how governments can use fear to erode civil liberties ————————————————————————————————————————- Articles The Uderground Man as Big Brother: Dostoevsky’s and Orwell’s Anti-Utopia The Hell of Nineteen Eighty-Four Orwell and me (Essay) LINK Nineteen Eighty-Four : Seems Like Yesterday (Essay) LINK Hope Begins in the Dark: Re-reading Nineteen Eighty-Four (Essay) LINK From 1984 to One-Dimensional Man: Critical Reflections on Orwell and Marcuse LINK The Reflection of George Orwell (Literary analysis) LINK Challenging Destiny (Essay) LINK |
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