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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What ailment does Winston suffer from?

2. What important thing does Winston do when he comes home in Part 1, Chapter 1?

3. What does Winston think will happen to Syme?

4. In Part 1, Chapter 7, Winston wonders, as he had many times before, if he is a _________.

5. What does Winston decide to do with the prostitute?

Short Essay Questions

1. Doublethink is believing that something is true when you know it is false. Do you really think that doublethink is possible? Can you find any examples of doublethink in the real world?

2. Where does Winston work, and what is his job? Why does he have to do this?

3. Look up the word "comrade" up in a dictionary. Why do you think everyone in Oceania is supposed to call each other comrade?

4. Judging by the dream Winston has about the girl with dark hair, how does he appear to feel about her?

5. Syme explains that the most important part of Newspeak is not the creation of new words, but the deletion of old words. Why might this be more important? What is the true purpose of Newspeak?

6. What might the woman singing in the street symbolizes?

7. Look up the word "proletariat" in the dictionary. What does it mean? Why does the Party ignore the proles? Is this strange?

8. What attracts Julia to Winston? Why is this attractive or necessary to her?

9. Try to imagine what it would be like to live in a country like Oceania where you are constantly watched by government agents. How would you feel?

10. What is the significance is behind Winston's dream about his mother? How might she have died?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Limits on power are often referred to as "checks and balances." Write an essay on this subject, touching upon:

1) The checks and balances that exist in the U.S. Constitution.

2) Some examples of checks and balances that have succeeded or failed.

3) Your vision of what the ideal system of checks and balances would look like.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay arguing either for or against the creation of a secret police force in America. Be sure to back up your opinions with examples from history and lessons learned from past governments.

Essay Topic 3

It can be said that Winston is tragically flawed due to his continued defiance of the rules of Oceania. His actions will eventually lead to his downfall.

Think deeply about yourself and your actions. Do you know someone who has a tragic flaw, or do you yourself have one? Write an essay explaining the flaw, why you consider it to be a problem, some examples demonstrating it, and how you think you or the other person can change to fix the flaw. Remember to keep within the definition of "tragic flaw," and avoid simply writing about something that you don't like about yourself or another person.

(see the answer keys)

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