1984

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Part 1, Chapter 1

Reading Check

1. In what nation (one of three world powers) is Airstrip One located?

2. Who is the leader of the Party?

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is a telescreen?

2. In Part 1, Chapter 1, what rule does Winston break despite the risk of the death penalty?

Paired Resource

“Facebook’s ‘Two Minutes Hate’” by Hélène de Lauzun

• Commentary from The European Conservative on an exception to Facebook’s hate speech policies
• This author explicitly compares Facebook’s Russia/Ukraine-related exception to its hate speech policies to Oceania’s “Two Minutes Hate.” Is this comparison an apt one? Why or why not?

Part 1, Chapters 2-4

Reading Check

1. Who comes to Winston’s door in Part 1, Chapter 2?

2. What does Winston do in front of the telescreen in Part 1, Chapter 3?

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In Part 1, Chapter 3, what evidence does Winston recall from childhood that makes him think that Oceania has not always been at war?

2. What is ironic about the name of the government department where Winston works?

Paired Resource

“She Joined DHS to Fight Disinformation. She Says She Was Halted by... Disinformation” by Shannon Bond

• NPR interview with Nina Jankowicz on the suspension of the DHS’s attempts to fight disinformation
• What are some of the benefits and dangers of allowing the government to take responsibility for fighting disinformation? How do you imagine the citizens of Oceania might answer this question?

Part 1, Chapters 5-6

Reading Check

1. What job does Syme do at the Ministry of Truth?

2. What is Winston’s wife’s name?

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does the Ministry of Plenty announce in Part 1, Chapter 5 that directly contradicts Winston’s own experiences?

2. What does Part 1, Chapter 6 suggest motivates the Party to work to suppress people’s enjoyment of sex?

Paired Resource

“Our Language Affects What We See” by Catherine L. Caldwell-Harris

• Scientific American article that discusses how the language we speak helps shape our thinking and perceptions
• What light does this article shed on the Party’s desire to limit the number of words to which Oceania’s citizens have access? If you were trying to limit the ability of people to think critically and observe carefully, what kinds of words would you remove from the dictionary?

Part 1, Chapters 7-8

Reading Check

1. Which group does Winston believe is the only hope for overthrowing the Party?

2. Where is the pre-Party apartment that Winston visits in Part 1, Chapter 8 located?

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What piece of physical evidence against the Party’s version of truth did Winston once hold in his own hands?

2. At the end of Part 1, Chapter 8, whom does Winston see coming toward him in the prole district?

Paired Resource

“Toppling Statues Is a First Step Toward Ending Confederate Myths” by Robert Draper

• This National Geographic article discusses the removal of Confederate statues.
• Does Draper’s argument apply to all statues and monuments, or are the Confederate statues different from other monuments in some key way? What are the differences and similarities between taking down monuments and the kinds of erasure that the Party engages in?

Part 2, Chapters 1-4

Reading Check

1. What is the name of the dark-haired woman at Winston’s work?

2. In Part 2, Chapter 4, what creature does the reader learn Winston fears?

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does the dark-haired woman first communicate with Winston in Part 2, Chapter 1, and what does she want to tell him?

2. What memory of hiking with Katherine does Winston have in Part 2, Chapter 3?

Paired Resource

“Why Strongmen Attack Women's Rights” by Colleen Scribner

• This Freedom House article discusses how modern authoritarians seek power through the repression of women.
• The content connects to the novel's theme of Totalitarian Power Diminishes Individuality.
• Given strong evidence that it is specifically the oppression of women that authoritarian regimes use as a tool to gain and preserve power, why do you think Orwell chose to write about the Party’s desire to inhibit sexual pleasure for both men and women?

Part 2, Chapters 5-8

Reading Check

1. For what event is Oceania preparing during Part 2, Chapter 5?

2. To what does Winston believe the proles are primarily loyal?

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is Winston so excited when O’Brien offers him an advance copy of the new Newspeak Dictionary?

2. What does the apparent lack of surveillance at O’Brien’s apartment lead Winston to do?

Paired Resource

“‘Our Souls Are Dead’: How I Survived a Chinese ‘Re-education’ Camp for Uyghurs” by Gulbahar Haitiwaji

• A grueling account of the methods and impact of Chinese re-education camps for Uyghurs (potentially sensitive content, especially for refugee students or those whose lives have been impacted by authoritarian persecution)
• This article’s content connects to the novel’s theme of Totalitarian Power Diminishes Individuality.
• After reading about Haitiwaji’s experiences and the impact on her, what do you think of Winston and Julia’s belief that the Party will never be able to change the way they think and feel?

Part 2, Chapter 9

Reading Check

1. What surprising and illogical announcement is made during one of the hate rallies in Part 2, Chapter 9?

2. Even after Winston understands how the Party rose to power, why is he still confused?

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does the Party’s surprising announcement during the Hate Week rally mean Winston must spend time doing?

2. What is Emmanuel Goldstein’s book about?

Paired Resource

“What Is the True Purpose of Propaganda?” by Rob Henderson

• This Psychology Today article suggests that the purpose of propaganda is not necessarily to be believable; instead, its purpose is to broadcast power over citizens’ ability to share their real thoughts.
• The content connects to the novel’s theme of Propaganda Manipulates Emotion and Discourages Individuality.
• How would you judge Oceania’s sudden shift in enemies and the citizenry’s reactions to this shift in the context of Henderson’s article about the real purpose of propaganda?

Part 3, Chapters 1-5

Reading Check

1. What government ministry is responsible for torture and interrogation?

2. How long has O’Brien been keeping an eye on Winston for the Party?

3. In Part 3, Chapter 5, with what does O’Brien propose to torture Winston in Room 101?

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Winston paradoxically end up feeling grateful to O’Brien in Part 3, Chapter 2?

2. In Part 3, Chapter 4, what does O’Brien tell Winston he must learn to do in addition to intellectually submitting to the Party?

Paired Resource

“What Is Trauma Bonding?” by Lois Zoppi

• A Medical News Today overview of trauma bonding: how it occurs, symptoms, and treatment
• Based on the information in this article, do you believe that Winston is experiencing a trauma bond with O’Brien? What do you predict this will mean for Winston’s future?

Part 3, Chapter 6-Appendix

Reading Check

1. What is the name of the cafe where Winston spends time in Part 3, Chapter 6?

2. What is the main topic of the book’s Appendix?

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What cognitive problems does Winston have as a result of his time at the Ministry of Love?

2. At the end of the story, how does Winston feel about the government?

Recommended Next Reads

It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

• Lewis’s classic dystopian novel about the rise of a populist leader to totalitarian power in the United States
• Shared topics include the impact of fear on moral conscience, disloyalty and suspicion, censorship, and manipulation of class divisions.
• Shared themes include Totalitarian Power Diminishes Individuality and Propaganda Manipulates Emotion and Discourages Individuality.
• It Can’t Happen Here on SuperSummary

Legend by Marie Lu

• A YA novel in which a wanted criminal and a member of the military work together to learn the truth about their dystopian society
• Shared topics include the corrupting influence of power, disloyalty and suspicion, manipulation of class divisions, and war as a propaganda tool.
• Shared themes include Constant Surveillance Is Oppressive, Totalitarian Power Diminishes Individuality, and Propaganda Manipulates Emotion and Discourages Individuality.
• Legend on SuperSummary