Novel Notes
“1984”
Step 1:

Dean, Michael, and George Orwell. 1984. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2003. Print.

* George Orwell was born in Bengal, India as Eric Arthur Blair. Orwell is a novelist, essayist, and critic. * He had strong opinions and addressed some of the major political movements of his time. * Orwell’s father was stationed in India and stayed there when George, his mom, and his sisters moved to England. Orwell and his father never had a strong connection. * Orwell composed his first poem around the age of 4, he then struggled in the years to come with getting his writing career off the ground. * Also wrote Animal Farm, a novel attacking Stalinism. * Once graduating from the university he became very interest in political matters, which led him the writing of 1984.

Step 2:

What is the significance of the novel’s title?
Orwell originally envisioned the title to be "The Last Man in Europe." But his editor, Frederic Warburg told Orwell he should change it. Therefore it became 1984, as we know it today. But there is much speculation as to where 1984 came from. There are two ideas I learned about. 1. Orwell, in 1948, may have thought a simple, two-digit end switcheroo would be a good title. 2. Or named it after his wife’s poem, "End of the Century, 1984."

What is the novel’s setting in time and place? Does setting influence characters or actions? How much time is covered in the story? * Setting Time & Place: “Airstrip One” now known as London. 1984. * The setting is the whole issue for the characters due to the fact it shows the aftermath of WWII and the impending Cold War. And the ideas of Communism were forced into the minds of all the Americans along with the secret police and the figurehead Big Brother. * “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human