1984
George Orwell
This dystopian novel was Orwell’s ninth and final novel. In it, people live under constant surveillance—in both their daily external lives and in their thoughts. Winston Smith lives in this world and is increasingly frustrated by the limitations placed on him. As he begins to fight the government’s messages and engage in rebellious thoughts and actions, his hatred for it increases until he is forced to choose: the woman he’s in love with or Big Brother.
Major thematic elements: freedom and oppression, control, individualism, classism
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IB Literature and IB Language and Literature Connections
Place of publication: United Kingdom
Language: English
Era: 20th Century
Genre: Fiction
Author: Male
Readers, writers and texts | Time and space | Intertextuality: Connecting texts
Identity | Culture | Creativity | Communication
Perspective | Transformation | Representation
Full text, basic summaries, and overviews
1984 by George Orwell | Full Text
This full text PDF is from Planetebook.com. If you’re printing, change printing settings to two pages per sheet for best results.
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1984 Audiobook
Two options here. The version by All Intellect is formatted like a classic audiobook and has timestamps for chapters in the video’s description. The Steve Parker version is more theatrical, with sound effects and music that match the text playing in the background. Time stamps for chapters are pinned in the comments section.
Version 1: All Intellect | Version 2: Steve Parker Audiobooks
1984 | Spark Notes Study Guide
This study guide includes a full book and chapter summaries, characters, literary devices, quick quizzes and more.
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1984 Study Guide | Course Hero
Course Hero’s study guide includes an infographic, discussion questions and more. The guide is also available in a series of videos.
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1984 by George Orwell, Parts 1 and 2: Crash Course Literature 401 and 402
In Part 1, John Green looks at the setting of 1984 and “how language can play a huge part in repressive regimes.” In part 2, Green discusses the concept of a surveillance society and “the idea that language can be used as a means to control people’s thoughts.”
Watch Part 1 on YouTube | Watch Part 2 on YouTube
Nothing but the truth: the legacy of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four | The Guardian | Dorian Lynskey | May 2019
This article discusses the history of 1984, its reception both initially and over the last five decades, and juxtaposes some of its themes with 21st-century American politics.
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Nineteen Eighty-Four | Wikipedia
This article includes background and title, plot, characters, setting, themes, reception, translations and adaptations, and more.
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About the author
George Orwell | Britannica | Biography
Britannica’s biography of Orwell is detailed and covers both his life and influences and the impact of Animal Farm and 1984.
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Orwell in Letters | Law & Liberty | Sarah Skwire | February 2014 | Book Review
Skwire reviews Peter Davison’s work George Orwell: A Life in Letters, a collection of Orwell’s correspondence.
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Essays and Other Works | The Orwell Foundation
This website is full of information, but this page in particular: it has links to sketches for Burmese Days, essays and articles, reviews Orwell wrote, and letters and other material.
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1984: George Orwell’s road to dystopia | BBC News | David Aaronovich | February 2013
Part personal essay, part biography of George Orwell, this essay attempts to track the experiences in Orwell’s life that led to writing 1984.
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The masterpiece that killed George Orwell | The Guardian | Robert McCrum | May 2009|
”Here, Robert McCrum tells the compelling story of Orwell’s torturous stay on [an island in a remote Scottish farmhouse] where the author, close to death and beset by creative demons, was engaged in a feverish race to finish [1984].”
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Articles, essays, and videos about 1984
George Orwell’s 1984: Why it still matters - BBC News | YouTube | BBC News | June 2019 | 4:56
This video explains important concepts in 1984—like Newspeak—and discusses the novel’s reception and lasting impact.
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LIVE TV RESTORATION: Studio One - George Orwell’s “1984” | YouTube | NBNTelevision | 59:56
This television version of 1984 aired on September 21, 1953. The quality is great. In the comments, there’s a link to the BBC Sunday-Night Theater version performed in 1954.
Watch here
Why ‘1984’ Is a 2017 Must-Read | The New York Times | Michiko Kakutani | January 2017
This article provides some historical context to 1984 and connects it to contemporary politics, particularly President Trump and the concept of a “post-truth” world. If you’d like to leave out the part of the article that connects 1984 to contemporary politics, start with the paragraph beginning “Orwell had been thinking about the novel.”
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Doublethink Is Stronger Than Orwell Imagined: What 1984 Means Today | The Atlantic | George Packer | July 2019
This essay focuses on Packer’s experience with the novel, Dorian Lynskey’s analysis of the novel in his book The Ministry of Truth: The Biography of George Orwell’s 1984, and connections to contemporary American politics.
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1984 v. Brave New World | Letters of Note | March 2012
17 years before Orwell published 1984, his former French teacher published a dystopia of his own: Brave New World. In a letter to Orwell from Huxley, Huxley both praises and criticizes Orwell’s work of fiction.
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Is George Orwell’s 1984 Really Behind us? (Bridging the Gap Between Composition and Literature) | Language Arts Journal of Michigan | Frederic J. Svoboda | 1985
This essay is a college professor’s account of teaching 1984 to his students. It’s very readable and interesting to see how students from 1985 connect to the same concepts as students today.
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Lesson plans and other teaching resources
What “Orwellian” really means - Noah Tavlin | YouTube | TED-Ed | 2015 | 5:31
”If you’ve watched the news or followed politics, chances are you’ve heard the term Orwellian thrown around in one context or another. But have you ever stopped to think about what it really means, or why it’s used so often? Noah Tavlin dissects the term.”
Watch here
1984 Newspeak Dictionary
Six-page dictionary from Airstrip One to Youth League with detailed definitions.
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Teaching Orwell and ‘1984’ With The New York Times
This article is long but well-worth the read because it is packed with hyperlinks to great resources to use with the text.
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1984 by George Orwell | The Great American Read | Grades 6-8, 9-12
This lesson asks students to watch a video segment and answer discussion questions (see right toolbar called “Support Materials for Use With Students”
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1984 Reader’s Guide | Penguin Random House
Penguin Random House has provided 20 discussion questions from 1984, which range from recall to synthesis.
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“1984” by George Orwell with Mini-assessment | Achieve the Core | Amy Mogelescu | Grade 8
This two-day series of sample lessons includes: “text dependent questions, printable copies of the text, student discussion activities, vocabulary and syntax tasks, annotations for teachers, and CCSS-aligned mini-assessment.”
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How to Teach George Orwell’s 1984 | Mondays Made Easy
This blog post outlines several approaches to teaching 1984. Of particular note is the section called “More Modern Parallels to 1984.” An important note is that most of the hard resources (worksheets, etc.) are only available for purchase via Teachers Pay Teachers.
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7 Lesson Planning Resources to Bolster Your Novel Study on 1984 | Common Lit | Chelsea Nuesi | October 2022
This article explains and links seven Common Lit resources that teachers can pair with 1984. Each section also includes suggestions for how to use it in the classroom. You may need to log in to access some of the resources.
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I always feel like, somebody’s watching me… Teaching 1984 and the power of government | Sarah Brown | 2010 | 10th Grade Honors
While this six-week unit was designed for sophomores, it could be leveled up or down for other grade levels. Go to page 2 in the document to read the table of contents.
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Texts and other resources you may find helpful.
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1984 by George Orwell
Paperback on Amazon.com
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Animal Farm by George Orwell
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Hardcover on Amazon.com
George Orwell Diaries
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George Orwell: A Life in Letters
Hardcover on Amazon.com
A Collection of Essays by George Orwell (1970)
Paperback on Amazon.com
All Art is Propaganda: Critical Essays
Paperback on Amazon.com