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Lesson 6

We will analyze the author’s use of flashbacks in Chapter 2. We will continue to examine the government of Oceania’s use of propaganda and Orwell’s development of Winston’s character.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I attend to details in 1984 to draw inferences from the novel?

  • Can I analyze and explain the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop Winston’s character?

  • Can I analyze and explain the impact of the author’s use of flashback to develop the mood of 1984?

  • Can I use a variety of strategies (e.g., context clues, word study, and vocabulary resources) to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases in the novel 1984?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • 1984, George Orwell, Signet Classics, 1949

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Discuss – Write

We will discuss our answers to the homework guiding questions for chapter 2 in groups.

In a small group, discuss your answers to the following questions:

  1. What do you find most interesting or compelling about the Parsonses and why?

  2. What mysterious sentence does Winston remember from a dream? What do you think it means?

Make revisions to your notes based on the discussion.

Activity 2: Read – Discuss – Write

We will examine Orwell’s use of the flashback narrative technique.

In literature, a flashback involves an intended interruption of the chronological sequence of events to narrate a previous occurrence. Writers often use these interruptions to provide background information for the reader. Write down the term in your Vocabulary Journal.

Reread the flashback that begins with the paragraph "Years ago—how long was it?" Use the following questions to guide your annotations.

  1. How long ago did Winston’s dream take place?

  2. With whom did Winston interact?

  3. What did that person say to him? What do you think his words mean?

  4. What mood does the flashback create? What impact does the flashback have?

  5. How is the flashback itself interrupted? What mood does this interruption create?

Write down your answers in your Learning Log.

Activity 3: Read – Discuss

We will reread specific paragraphs from chapter 2 to further examine the government’s use of propaganda on citizens of oceania?

Reread the section of text beginning with "The voice from the telescreen paused" and ending with the paragraph that begins, "Bad news coming….”

In your small group, discuss the following questions:

  1. How does the government manipulate its citizens' emotions when communicating news?

  2. Is this propaganda effective on Winston? What textual evidence supports your answer?

Activity 4: Read – Discuss – Write

We will closely read select excerpts from chapter 2 to examine Orwell’s development of winston’s character.

Reread from paragraph that begins "The sun had shifted round" through the end of the chapter.

Use the following questions to guide your annotations:

  1. What conflict is Winston struggling with in this passage?

  2. How is Orwell’s decision to have Winston write in a diary an effective technique for developing his character?

Discuss your answers in small groups. Capture the discussion on your Character Note-Taking Tool.

Activity 5: Write

We will return to some of the key terms we were introduced to and examine our refined understanding of their meaning.

Examine the terms below. In your Learning Log, add or revise your definition of the term based on what you have read so far. Return to the text as necessary.

  • Big Brother

  • Oceania

  • Telescreen

  • The Party

  • thoughtcrime

  • The Brotherhood

  • The Book

  • Two Minutes Hate

Activity 6: Read – Write

For homework, we will read chapter 3 of 1984 and answer a set of guiding questions.

For homework, read and annotate Chapter 3 of 1984. Use the following questions to guide your annotations:

  1. Whom does Winston dream about? What does it reveal about how life was in the past?

  2. What other techniques that the government uses to control its citizens are revealed in this chapter?

Be prepared to share your answers in the next lesson.

Write new or interesting words you encounter in your Vocabulary Journal.