Major Works Data Sheet

1984 Title: __________________________________

Name _________________________

Biographical information about the author:

Born Eric Blair in Indian in 1903, George Orwell was educated as a scholarship student at prestigious boarding schools in George Orwell Author: ________________________________ England. After graduating from Eton, Orwell decided to forego college in order to work as a British Imperial Policeman in Burma. He hated his duties in Burma, where he was required to en1949 Date of Publication: ______________________ force the strict laws of a political regime he despised. His failing health, which troubled him throughout his life, caused him to reDystopian Genre: _________________________________ turn to England on convalescent leave. Once back in England, he quit the Imperial Police and dedicated himself to becoming a writer. Inspired by Jack Londons 1903 book The People of the Literary Period: _________________________ Abyss, which detailed Londons experience in the slums of LonModernism don, Orwell bought ragged clothes from a second-hand store and went to live among the very poor in London. After reemergCharacteristics of the genre: ing, he published a book about this experience, entitled Down 1. Uses images (word pictures) and symbols as typical and and Out in Paris and London. In 1936, he traveled to Spain to report on the Spanish Civil War, where he witnessed firsthand frequent literary techniques. 2. Uses colloquial language the nightmarish atrocities committed by fascist political regimes. rather than formal language. 3. Uses language in a very The rise to power of dictators such as Adolf Hitler in Germany self-conscious way, seeing language as a technique for and Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union inspired Orwells mountcrafting the piece of literature just as an artist crafts a piece ing hatred of totalitarianism and political authority. Orwell deof art like a sculpture or a painting. 4. Uses language as a voted his energy to writing novels that were politically charged, special medium that influences what that piece of literature first with Animal Farm in 1945, then with 1984 in 1949. can do or can be. 5. Saw the piece of literature as an object crafted by an artist using particular techniques, crafts, skills Historical information about the literary period: The term dystopia was first used in the late 19th century, though (recall how the Romantics thought the piece of literature was a work of genius that somehow appears full-blown from not in its modern form. The first authors to approach literature with a completely pessimistic outlook for the future were called the imagination of the genius). Form, style, and technique Cataclysmic writers. They shared a common fear or distaste thus become as important--if not more so--than content or for the rapid pace of change, and as a result became defensive against their modern society. Much of their literature contained substance. 6. Often, the intention of writers in the Modern visions of the apocalyptic end of the world at the hands of men period is to change the way readers see the world and to with technology. The world could not get better, they reasoned, change our understanding of what language is and does. only worse. Their work has a distinctly pessimistic tone, which As literary political fiction, 1984 is a classic novel of the embodied all of the bitterness felt by those left behind by societys rapid pace. A dystopian author does not generally have social science fiction subgenre. The novel popularized such a bitter tone to their work. Rather, theirs is prophetic in the adjective Orwellian, which refers to lies, surveillance, nature, suggesting that if society does not change, one possible or manipulation of the past in the service of a totalitarian result will be the destruction of humanity, the death of freedom, agenda. or other sort of cultural downfall.

Plot Summary:

Description of the authors style: Orwells style contributes to this worlds bleakness. His sentences are direct, with minimal flourish. We learn about 1984s world through dull, matter-of-fact explanations which subtly drives home how dull and matter-of-fact daily life is for Oceanias people. Orwell describes his imagined world and lets the story unfold in a detached manner, but he knows that any intelligent reader will find his descriptions alarming and creepy.

2. An example that demonstrates the style or an extended analysis of the description:

In Politics and the English Language, Orwell famously laid out a few of his own rules for good writers, including, If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out, and Never use a long word when a short one will do. Is it any surprise that he composed these rules in 1946, and 1984 hit bookstore shelves in 1949? We think not, since his style in the novel couldnt be more rule abiding. This works well for 1984, especially high efficiency and little embellishment mirrors the drabness of the Oceanic world precisely.

Quotation

Memorable Quotes
Significance

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Characters
Name Role in the story Significance Adjectives

4. Setting Significance of the opening scene

Symbols Do not just list them - state what they represent Significance of the ending/closing scene

Possible Themes Themes are stated in complete sentences, topics are one-word.