Questions tagged [george-orwell]

Questions about the works of the English author George Orwell (1903 – 1950) or his life as a writer. Orwell is best known for the novels 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' and 'Animal Farm'.

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In which fictional works are the laws of logic broken? [closed]

In fictional works, the breaking of logical conventions has served as a narrative tool. This can be seen in the surreal landscapes of Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the infinite wheel in ...
lfba's user avatar
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1984 question - Ogilvy & Photo contradiction

It is a big deal to Winston when he has the photograph of the three men in New York. Proof of the Party's lies. But is his Ogilvy fable not just as much proof - in a sense - that the Party lies ( ...
Deathcreeperdestiny 's user avatar
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1 answer
221 views

What did J. B. Priestley mean by, "Comedy, we may say, is society protecting itself—with a smile."

One of the most popular J. B. Priestley quotes is: Comedy, we may say, is society protecting itself—with a smile. Source: https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/j-b-priestley-quotes https://literature....
Matthew Christopher Bartsh's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
137 views

What are "devices of orthodoxy" in this context?

White always mates because the better player has opted for the white pieces. But black is free to win if he can. In that its citizens are free to play the game of memory control, of working out the ...
Abw's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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The distinction between the Orwell's belief about real world and his imagination

Orwell seemed to believe that the real world, as opposed to that of his feverish and genuinely diseased imagination, was moving in the direction of bigger and worse cacotopias. 1985 by Anthony Burgess ...
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1 answer
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Do the rocket bombs in 1984 only ever strike prole quarters?

Relatively in the middle of chapter 5 in “1984” it says: In some ways she was far more acute than Winston, and far less susceptible to Party propaganda. Once when he happened in some connexion to ...
Pixelcode's user avatar
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Aren't there any thought criminals who commit suicide in Oceania and what would it mean for the government?

The Inner Party doesn't want Winston and Julia dead as long as they are opposing Big Brother and the government. Oceania's government wants everyone to "love" Big Brother and Ingsoc, and ...
Thoughtcriminal's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
565 views

Were Eurasia and Eastasia ever allied against Oceania?

In Orwell's 1984, the world is divided into three superpowers: Oceania (roughly equal to the Americas, Australasia, and Britain), Eurasia (roughly equal to the Soviet Union and mainland Europe) and ...
Rand al'Thor's user avatar
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What if it were named '*The* Animal Farm'?

This question was inspired by a recent comment to a previous question of mine. In that question, I asked about the literary effect of dropping the articles from titles of novels and films. Even there, ...
linguisticturn's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
242 views

What is a "red lead firm"?

In George Orwell's Keep the Aspidistra Flying, the protagonist gets a job at a "red lead firm". From context, it seems to mean a well-established, maybe stuffy, firm. I wonder if anyone has ...
Michael Weiss's user avatar
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In "Keep the Aspidistra Flying", what is the joke about "Mice"?

In George Orwell's Keep the Aspidistra Flying, he writes: Mice, by Gordon Comstock; a sneaky little foolscap octavo, price three and sixpence but now reduced to a bob. Of the thirteen B.F.s who had ...
Michael Weiss's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
813 views

What is the meaning of "pools of gold" in "Nineteen Eighty-Four"?

From the beginning of part 2, chapter 2: Winston picked his way up the lane through dappled light and shade, stepping out into pools of gold wherever the boughs parted. Under the trees to the left of ...
user13031's user avatar
7 votes
5 answers
15k views

Does Winston Smith die at the end of 1984?

At the end of 1984, does Winston Smith die in the traditional sense of death, or just figuratively?
Nour Fourti's user avatar
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1 answer
358 views

What did George Orwell try to communicate with "Animal Farm"?

What exactly is the message that George Orwell tried to communicate through Animal Farm? What exactly did he mean by The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to ...
Anirban Saha's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
6k views

Where is Napoleon during the battle of the cowshed?

In Animal Farm, where is Napoleon during the battle of the cowshed? Is this significant? Please explain in detail.
Literature Today's user avatar
1 vote
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In Animal Farm, what is the significance of the gun’s placement at the foot of the flagpole?

What is the significance of Mr. Jones's gun’s placement at the foot of the flagpole? Is there anything that this represents?
Literature Today's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
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What is the meaning of Benjamin the donkey's cryptic answer?

George Orwell's Animal Farm contains the following passage in chapter 3: When asked whether he was not happier now that Jones was gone, he would say only “Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ...
Manik's user avatar
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Where did Orwell ask whether British democracy would end through a Fascist takeover or by a Socialist revolution?

The Wikipedia article about Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighthy-Four contains the following statement: During World War II, Orwell believed that British democracy as it existed before 1939 would not ...
Tsundoku's user avatar
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11 votes
2 answers
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In 1984 why does the Newspeak dictionary have numbered editions?

A major theme in 1984 is that the Party is never wrong and commonly changes all past references to reflect this. Why would the Party have numbered editions of their Newspeak dictionary, as opposed to ...
Winston's user avatar
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In 1984, how did people think their thoughtcrime would be discovered?

In the novel 1984, Winston Smith writes: Thoughtcrime does not entail death: thoughtcrime IS death. How exactly does Smith, or anyone else, think that Big Brother will discover their thoughtcrimes?...
K--'s user avatar
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3 answers
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What does George Orwell mean with "vague reverence"?

In Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell writes this: Sometimes it stopped for a few seconds, spread out and resettled its wings, then swelled its speckled breast and again burst into ...
Harsh's user avatar
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Nineteen Eighty Four - the chocolate ration demonstrations

After the chocolate ration is reduced from 30 grammes per week to 20, the Ministry of Truth puts out the claim that it has been increased to 20 grammes (its supposed previous level is not stated). ...
Astrid_Redfern's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

Looking for a quote from 1984 about the party's immortality vs personal mortality

What is the quote from 1984 where Winston tells O'Brien that O'Brien is mortal, and O'Brien responds that what matters is the party's immortality and not his own? It was during a sort of "ask me ...
user7713's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
3k views

Did the Brotherhood really exist?

In George Orwell's 1984, there is a mention of a secretive organization named Brotherhood whose main aim is to rebel against the Big Brother, and the Party in general. In the later part of the prose, ...
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When was the Party founded?

The boots were approaching again. The door opened. O'Brien came in. Winston started to his feet. The shock of the sight had driven all caution out of him. For the first time in many years he ...
EJoshuaS - Stand with Ukraine's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
582 views

In George Orwell's Burmese Days, what word is the censored "b--s" supposed to be?

Here's a passage where Westfield talks about possibly having to allow Natives into the European club: "Got to put up with it, I suppose", he said. "B--s of natives are getting into all the Clubs ...
Keno's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
159 views

Do Orwell's and E. B. White's essays belong to a school?

I have always been charmed by George Orwell's and E. B. White's essays. They're insidiously plain, but extremely pleasant to read. The way that they talk is so different from authors today (for ...
Sermo's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
341 views

Animal Farm — silent protest?

Is Animal Farm by George Orwell a silent protest against the Russian Revolution? I am correcting an essay about Animal Farm, and someone called it a silent protest. I am not sure whether I should ...
M. C.'s user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
152 views

Would Julia have wanted to meet with O'Brien if not for Winston?

In George Orwell's 1984 I am trying to prove that Winston influenced Julia to be more proactive in rebelling against the Party. So I am wondering if Julia's views on actively trying to take down the ...
meel's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
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What does "toby" mean, in London slang of Orwell's time?

In the George Orwell poem "A Dressed Man and a Naked Man", two men are haggling for the clothes of one of them (the other is naked). After a little research into the pounds/shillings/pence system for ...
Rand al'Thor's user avatar
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What caused English intellectuals to be "ashamed of their own nationality", according to George Orwell?

Gary Gibbon, First-class BA History (Balliol College, Oxford). Breaking Point: The UK Referendum on the EU and its Aftermath (Haus Curiosities). p. 63.         And then there ...
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3 votes
1 answer
2k views

Are these quotes from Orwell's 1984 similes, metaphors, or something else?

Winston's entrails seemed to have turned into ice. I thought metaphor, but it's the "seemed" that's throwing me off. It's not quite 'something IS something else' (i.e. his 'entrails turned into ice')...
Littletee's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
6k views

What is meant by Winston only had once a proof of falsification by the Party?

(From Chapter 3..) Winston Smith is doing his morning gymnastics in front of the telescreen and thinking about the Party and their actions. Quoting from the book itself (emphasis mine): Sometimes, ...
Koray Tugay's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
3k views

How bad is Winston Smith 's memory in the novel `1984`?

The book starts with Winston entering his apartment in noon, leaving work at noon by choice since we are given the information that By leaving the Ministry at this time of day he had sacrificed ...
Koray Tugay's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
516 views

Why did George Orwell make "Oceania" totalitarian in his novel "1984"?

During his times the United States and Great Britain were seen as one of the few the greatest "true" democracies that have ever existed. Why did he decide to merge them into one totalitarian ...
user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
2k views

What might Syme have been thinking when he was captured?

I understand that Syme was vaporised because he overthought the concept of the newspeak, but would he have regretted being an avid follower of Big Brother and destroyer of language?
OrwellLegend's user avatar
5 votes
4 answers
2k views

What does this passage of 1984 mean?

There were also memories of another kind. They stood out in his mind disconnectedly, like pictures with blackness all round them. He was in a cell which might have been either dark or light, because ...
user4904's user avatar
13 votes
1 answer
4k views

Is Winston Smith in Orwell's 1984 an unreliable narrator?

In a recent discussion in on online course about How to Read a Novel, someone suggested that Winston Smith in Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four is an unreliable narrator. L. Kip Wheeler's glossary ...
Tsundoku's user avatar
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13 votes
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Why doesn't Winston ask Mr Charrington about life before the Revolution?

In Nineteen Eighty-Four, Winston goes to a pub and asks an old prole about life in the olden days. But it's all in vain, because the man can't remember anything Winston thinks is important, so Winston ...
dain's user avatar
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6 votes
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Were the three slogans in Orwell's 1984 partly inspired by Kipling's poem "The White Man's Burden"?

George Orwell did not like Kipling at all. I quote from this essay by Orwell: Kipling is a jingo imperialist, he is morally insensitive and aesthetically disgusting. But this essay also shows that ...
Peter Shor's user avatar
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15 votes
4 answers
3k views

Terminology and examples for what George Orwell calls "good bad poetry"?

Recently I bumped into an article where "The Poetry Foundation’s president, John Barr, takes a look at what separates “serious” poetry from the rest". Poetry being an art form, obviously no such ...
Ilmari's user avatar
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8 votes
5 answers
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In 1984, did Julia ever reach room 101? If so, what was her worst fear?

While O'Brian is torturing Winston, he reveals that Julia betrayed Winston almost immediately. Does this mean that she never reached room 101? If she did reach it, do we have any hints as to what her ...
Ovi's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
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1984 - What does O'Brien mean by this sentence? [duplicate]

While Winston is being held prisoner, O'Brien walks in the room for the first time and the conversation goes something like this: Winston: They got you too! O'Brien: Yes, they got me a long time ago. ...
Ovi's user avatar
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1 answer
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Is the speaker with an on-off switch a reference to Orwell?

I'm intrigued by this passage in Lois Lowry, The Giver, chapter 10. He watched as the man rose and moved first to the wall where the speaker was. It was the same sort of speaker that occupied a ...
b_jonas's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
349 views

How did the Thought Police prevent themselves from becoming Thought Criminals?

The Thought Police presumably encountered Thought Criminals with at least some regularity. At a minimum, there were a fair number of people imprisoned at the Ministry of Love. With that said, how did ...
EJoshuaS - Stand with Ukraine's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
2k views

Why does Emmanuel Goldstein's book in 1984 have a title page?

I was rereading 1984 when I noticed something amiss in this passage: A heavy black volume, amateurishly bound, with no name or title on the cover. The print also looked slightly irregular. The ...
rodentry's user avatar
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12 votes
1 answer
1k views

Does "Animal Farm" explicitly state anywhere in the text that it is in fact a political allegory?

I first heard of George Orwell's Animal Farm in high school when a teacher mentioned that it was an allegory of the Soviet State. So I read it two years later with that understanding. While recently ...
English Student's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
5k views

Why did the animals in Animal Farm confess to their crimes?

One of the things that I did not understand about Animal Farm is why the animals, after the hen's rebellion, simply came forward to confess their crimes. Napoleon offers no incentive for coming ...
Mike.C.Ford's user avatar
11 votes
3 answers
1k views

Why wasn't O'Brien considered a thought criminal?

Given that O'Brien shows a high level of awareness of the Party's deceptiveness and malice (e.g. the fact that he admitted to being involved in creating and promoting the Goldstein myth), to what ...
EJoshuaS - Stand with Ukraine's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
5k views

Why does O'Brien claim that the party didn't believe in solipsism?

In 1984, O'Brien claims that the party's philosophy is not solipsism. Why does he claim that? Was he telling the truth, and how does the party's philosophy actually differ from solipsism? From chapter ...
EJoshuaS - Stand with Ukraine's user avatar