Preview
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell this chapter in order: on a bright cold day in April, when the clocks strike thirteen, a frail man named Winston Smith climbs to his flat in Victory Mansions past contrived posters of Big Brother whose eyes seem to follow him; a telescreen watches and talks and can never be shut off; at the daily Two Minutes Hate the crowd shouts and grimaces with abstract, switchable rage, and Winston is swept up against his will; later, in a corner the telescreen cannot see, he furtively opens a diary that could mean death and writes DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER over and over; then a knock at the door fills him with terror. When you reach the diary, slow down and weigh the risk Winston is taking.
Discussion Questions
- Orwell opens not with action but with an unsettling image, the clocks striking thirteen, and a frail man fighting a vile wind. Why might Orwell introduce the world and Winston in this way, and what feeling does it create before any events unfold? Support your reading with the text.
- The Big Brother posters are plainly made images, yet their eyes seem to follow people everywhere. What kind of power does that image exert in this chapter, and why does it still affect people even when its artificiality is obvious? Support your reading with the text.
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Critical Thinking
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