What is the main message that you think that George Orwell is trying to communicate to you through 1984? Provide three quotes from the book to support your claim, and explain HOW those quotes support your claim.


The message I believe 1984 is trying to convey is a warning against totalitarianism. “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.” This quote is a perfect illustration of how, in the future, a government might take total control of the human race all the way down to their minds and the ways they think and perceive reality. “Until they became conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.” If the Party suppresses conscious thought then their charges will be devoid of responsibility and free thought and they will have no control of their lives. “Big Brother is Watching You.” Big Brother and the Party are the very epitomes of totalitarianism, controlling all aspects of the lives of those in Airstrip One and keeping them from ever waking up.

The three classes

In Part 2, Julia and Winston received "the book" from The Brotherhood. Chapter 1, "Ignorance is Strength," analyzes this party slogan. Choose one part of the analysis (pp. 201 - 217) and see if you can apply it to a current event or issue. 

"There are three kinds of people in the world, the High, the Middle, and the Low." This paragraph goes on to describe how the High class is basically the 1% in today's society, commanding the majority of the world's wealth. The middle get by, having maybe just the slightest bit of money to spend on leisure. The low are those living below the poverty line, those that cannot sufficiently provide for themselves or their families. This book in 1984 has effectively described the economic state of most of the first world countries in the modern world. It shows how the three classes in the world never really change, even in an author's envisioning of a dystopian future. Some things never change.