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Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell this chapter in order: Winston goes to his job at the Ministry of Truth, where his work is to 'rectify' old newspapers so the past always matches what the Party says today; he drops the originals into a memory hole to be burned, so all of history becomes a palimpsest rewritten with no proof left; he reflects on coworkers, including a woman who deletes erased people though her own husband was vaporised, and on a disgraced official, Withers, who has become an unperson; for his main job he replaces Withers's mention by inventing a heroic but entirely fictional Comrade Ogilvy, reflecting that an invented man can become as authentically 'real' in the records as any historical figure, and that his work is not even forgery but the substitution of one nonsense for another. When you reach Winston's reflection that the records have no connection to the real world, slow down and weigh what that means for the very idea of truth.
Discussion Questions
- Winston's entire job at the Ministry of Truth is to 'rectify' old records so the past always agrees with the Party's present. What does it reveal about this society that altering the past is steady, organized, full-time work, and why? Support your reading with the text.
- Winston is skilled at this work and even takes pleasure in its difficulty. Does this chapter present him mainly as a victim of the system, as a responsible participant in it, or as something harder to classify? Defend your reading with evidence from the chapter, and answer the strongest objection to your view, explaining why your reading still holds.
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Critical Thinking
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