In class we identified features of the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four that might help us to develop a clear understanding of the genre: “Dystopian Literary Fiction”
From this we will now expand our study by investigating:
- Evidence in the text that supports our impressions recorded above – particularly those in relation to the setting, style, language and structure of the novel.
- Select 5 aspects of the novel from the list above (or add your own) and write a supporting analysis that contains at least two quotations each. Use this model to support the construction of these analytical pieces
- The historical context of George Orwell’s authorship of the novel – Janus
- Gather significant facts about Orwell’s personal history that are understood to have influenced his politics and his writing.
- Read one of Orwell’s essays:
- The actual realities of world politics in 1950 and 1984 – Alyssa
- Explore specific socio-political elements of the time: Technology, Political Systems, The Cold War, The USSR, Post-WWII Europe, Mutually Assured Destruction.
- The allegorical basis for the text – Stalin’s Russia – Chris
- Pay particular attention to facets of Stalinist Russia that may have influenced Orwell’s construction of his own Totalitarian Party. Also, have a re-read of this article about the post-fact world
- Other texts that fit the dystopia genre (read, view and summarise) – Anna, Sophie
- FILMS: V for Vendetta, Children of Men, Gattaca, Minority Report, Elysium, ExistenZ, Mad Max: Fury Road, In Time
- Marxism and Feminism as literary theories
- Resonance in our society now – to what extent was George Orwell’s vision of the future prophetic? Rory
- Draw distinct parallels between features in Orwell’s vision of the future and that which we find to be true of our world today – match the present day truths with specific quotes from the text. Consider: Politics, Political Corruption, Technology, Privacy, Class, Sex, State Control over the Individual, Inequality, Media manipulation, Totalitarianism.
[…] in the programme will be a study of the grammar of dystopian writing and an exploration of the wider genre. The […]