Nineteen Eighty-Four
George Orwell
Contains spoilers for the entire book.
Discussion topics
Topic 01 of 08
The diary
Why does Winston begin a diary he knows could cost him his life, and who is he really writing it for?
Keep the conversation going
- What does that first act of rebellion tell you about what Winston wants most?
- How does his work rewriting the records at the Ministry of Truth shape his hunger for something real?
There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.
Discussion topics
Why does Winston begin a diary he knows could cost him his life, and who is he really writing it for?
Keep the conversation going
- What does that first act of rebellion tell you about what Winston wants most?
- How does his work rewriting the records at the Ministry of Truth shape his hunger for something real?
What does the Party gain by controlling the past, and why does that matter so much to Winston?
Keep the conversation going
- How did the scraps of the past Winston clings to, like the coral paperweight, strike you?
- Can people hold on to the truth when every record says otherwise?
Can changing language really limit what people are able to think?
Keep the conversation going
- What did you make of Syme's enthusiasm for the dictionary, and of his disappearance?
- Where do you see the logic of Newspeak and doublethink in the world around you?
Is Julia's rebellion smaller than Winston's, or simply different?
Keep the conversation going
- What do the room above Mr Charrington's shop and its sense of safety mean to them both?
- How do their reasons for defying the Party compare?
Why does Winston believe that if there is hope, it lies in the proles, and was he right?
Keep the conversation going
- How does the Party keep the proles from ever becoming a threat?
- What did you make of the woman singing in the yard below the window?
Why does Winston trust O'Brien, and what does O'Brien seem to want from him?
Keep the conversation going
- How did you react to the revelation of who O'Brien really is, and of where Goldstein's book came from?
- Is O'Brien a believer, a cynic, or something harder to name?
What does the Party take from Winston in Room 101 that it couldn't take before?
Keep the conversation going
- Why is betraying Julia the thing that finally breaks him?
- What does the novel suggest about whether loyalty can survive fear?
How did the last line of the novel leave you feeling?
Keep the conversation going
- What passes between Winston and Julia when they meet again after their release?
- Does the Appendix on Newspeak, written as if looking back, change how you read the ending?
There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.