1984 Lesson Plan

Written in the shadow of World War II and the many Fascist and Communist revolutions that preceded it, 1984 is a dystopian novel, set in a terrifying imagined future—in this case, the imagined year 1984. It tells the story of Winston Smith, who is a citizen of Oceania, one of the three superstates that control the globe; the novel follows his struggle against its ruling body, the Party, and its symbolic leader, Big Brother. The Party aims for absolute power over its citizens, whom it controls through constant observation using "telescreens" and through cruelty enforced by social norms and orthodoxies rather than formalized legal codes. Winston feels a desperate need to resist this...