Objectives

• Analyse how Orwell uses setting and narrative voice in Chapter 1 to construct Oceania as a system of total surveillance.
• Explain how Winston's acts of private resistance in Chapters 6, 9 and 12 function simultaneously as political defiance and self-assertion of identity.
• Evaluate how Orwell's treatment of Newspeak in Chapter 5 and the Appendix presents language as the primary instrument of ideological control.
• Analyse how O'Brien's interrogation methods in Chapters 20 and 21 dramatise the Party's theory of power as an end in itself.
• Write a sustained, evidenced analytical essay arguing how Orwell uses the trajectory from Chapter 1 to Chapter 23 to present the annihilation of the self as totalitarianism's ultimate goal.

The sequence

1. Lesson 1: Victory Mansions to the Ministry of Truth: Building the World of Oceania

   60 min · ch. 1

   Do now

   Look at the opening sentence of Chapter 1: 'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.' Write down two things that seem odd or off about this sentence, and one prediction about the world you're about to explore. You have four minutes — no talking.

   Teacher input

   Model a close reading of the paragraph in Chapter 1 that starts with 'On each landing, opposite the lift-shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall.' Discuss how Orwell's use of the verb 'gazed' (instead of 'watched' or 'stared') gives the poster a sense of calm, all-knowing intimacy rather than menacing surveillance. Additionally, examine how the repeated phrase 'BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU' — first in capital letters and then echoed in Winston's thoughts — embodies the internalization of surveillance that the Party relies on. Finally, draw attention to the transition from third-person narration to free indirect discourse towards the end of the paragraph, suggesting that this shift reflects the content: the Party's watchful gaze has already permeated Winston's perspective.

   Independent task

   Re-read the passage in Chapter 1 from 'The Ministry of Truth, his place of work' to the end of the description of the four Ministries and their slogans ('WAR IS PEACE / FREEDOM IS SLAVERY / IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH'). Write one full analytical paragraph — using the Point, Evidence, Analysis, Link structure — in which you argue how Orwell uses the architectural description of the four Ministries and the three Party slogans to present power as something that has made contradiction not merely acceptable but structurally necessary. Your paragraph must quote at least two specific details from this passage and must use the term 'doublethink' in your analysis.

   Exit ticket

   In one or two sentences, explain why Orwell chooses to describe the Ministry of Love as the one building 'with no windows' — what does this architectural detail tell us about the nature of the power it houses?

2. Lesson 2: The Diary, the Note, the Room: Private Resistance and the Construction of Self

   60 min · ch. 6, 9, 12

   Do now

   Read the sentence from Chapter 6 where Winston writes in his diary: 'DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER.' Count how many times this phrase appears on the page. Then consider: why do you think Orwell has Winston repeat these words instead of crafting one thoughtful protest sentence? Write three to five lines before the teacher responds.

   Teacher input

   Model a reading of the moment in Chapter 9 when Julia slips the note into Winston's hand in the Ministry of Truth corridor. Focus on the line, "He did not know what had made him certain that she was not an agent of the Thought Police," highlighting how the syntax of negation—what Winston cannot know, cannot prove, and cannot articulate—reveals the essence of his predicament. Orwell illustrates the struggle of existing under constant surveillance, where forming trust becomes nearly impossible, yet Winston decides to trust Julia anyway. This ties back to the diary entry in Chapter 6, where he writes, "To the future or to the past…" Both the act of writing in the diary and accepting the note represent a defiance against the Party's claim that individual identity does not exist.

   Independent task

   Read the passage in Chapter 12 from when Winston and Julia first enter the room above Charrington's shop and spot the coral paperweight, up to the line 'The paperweight was the room he was in, and the coral was Julia's life and his own, fixed in a sort of eternity at the heart of the crystal.' Write an analytical paragraph of at least 150 words in which you discuss what the glass paperweight symbolizes for Winston at this moment in the novel, incorporating at least two quotations from this passage. Your paragraph should explore both what the object signifies for Winston and what Orwell’s choice of this particular image — delicate, transparent, holding something ancient and unchanging — implies about the likely outcome of Winston's rebellion.

   Exit ticket

   Write one sentence that completes this claim with specific textual evidence: 'The room above Charrington's shop represents for Winston not simply a hiding place but _______ because Orwell describes it as _______.'

3. Lesson 3: Destroying the Word, Destroying the Thought: Newspeak as Ideological Weapon

   60 min · ch. 5, 13, 24

   Do now

   Without looking at the text, jot down three words that you believe are key to conveying the notion of political freedom. Next, read the first half of Syme's speech in Chapter 5, from 'Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?' to 'Every concept that can ever be needed will be expressed by exactly one word.' Which of your three words do you think Newspeak would remove, and why? Write four lines.

   Teacher input

   Model a close reading of Syme's speech in Chapter 5, particularly focusing on the sentence, "In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it." Analyze how Orwell presents Syme—a character who will ultimately be vaporized by Chapter 13—as the most clear and enthusiastic proponent of the Party's linguistic ambitions. This serves as Orwell's darkest irony: the person who most eloquently defends a language meant to obliterate expression is himself annihilated by the system he upholds. Additionally, consider how the Appendix's use of the past tense ("Newspeak was the official language of Oceania") illustrates how Orwell weaves a structural counter-argument to the Party's objectives into the very fabric of the novel.

   Independent task

   Using Chapter 5 and the Appendix, write two connected analytical paragraphs — each at least 120 words — arguing that Orwell presents Newspeak as the Party's most dangerous weapon because it targets thought itself rather than merely influencing behavior. In your first paragraph, focus on Syme's dialogue in Chapter 5, quoting and analyzing at least two specific claims he makes about language. In your second paragraph, examine the Appendix and discuss how the use of past tense in a scholarly style — as if a future historian is describing Newspeak — unveils the limitations of the Party's ultimate success.

   Exit ticket

   In one sentence, explain why the Appendix being written in the past tense is an act of political hope — and identify the specific grammatical feature that carries this meaning.

4. Lesson 4: 'How Does One Man Assert Power Over Another?': O'Brien and the Logic of Totalitarian Torture

   60 min · ch. 20, 21

   Do now

   Winston's response to O'Brien's question about power is chilling yet straightforward: power is asserted through suffering. I believe Winston is correct; suffering can indeed yield control and submission. As for Orwell, it seems he aligns with Winston's perspective here, showcasing the grim reality of oppression in totalitarian regimes.

   Teacher input

   Model a close reading of the passage in Chapter 21 where O'Brien tells Winston: 'The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power.' Examine the rhetorical structure of O'Brien's speech — his use of the first-person plural 'we', his systematic dismissal of alternative theories of power (like the Nazi and Communist models), and his chilling choice to use the present tense throughout. Argue that Orwell crafts O'Brien's explanation of power to be the most coherent and intellectually satisfying in the entire novel, deliberately leaving Winston — and the reader — without a comfortable counter-argument. The true horror lies not in O'Brien's incorrectness, but in the unsettling reality that, within the world of the novel, he is indeed right.

   Independent task

   Re-read Chapter 20 from "You are a flaw in the pattern, Winston" to the chapter's conclusion, and Chapter 21 from "The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake" to "If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever." Write a full analytical paragraph of at least 180 words in which you argue how Orwell employs O'Brien's voice and rhetoric in these two chapters to depict power not as a means to an end but as an end in itself. You must quote and analyze at least three specific phrases, and your paragraph should discuss the impact of Orwell's choice to present O'Brien's argument as intellectually coherent rather than crude or overtly villainous.

   Exit ticket

   Write one sentence explaining what is more frightening about O'Brien's theory of power than a straightforward theory of power-for-wealth or power-for-security would be — and name the specific word or phrase from Chapter 21 that makes this clearest.

5. Lesson 5: 'He Loved Big Brother': The Annihilation of the Self in Chapters 22 and 23

   60 min · ch. 1, 6, 9, 12, 21, 22, 23, 24

   Do now

   Before reading Chapter 22, jot down your thoughts in two or three sentences about what you believe Winston's last act of rebellion will be and the reasoning behind it. After that, read the final paragraph of Chapter 22, from 'He was falling backwards, into enormous depths' to 'He loved Big Brother.' In one sentence, share whether your prediction was accurate and what surprises you about Orwell's conclusion.

   Teacher input

   Model a close reading of the final paragraph of Chapter 23 — from 'He gazed up at the enormous face' to 'He loved Big Brother' — by examining the verb 'gazed'. Refer students back to Lesson 1 and the poster from Chapter 1, where 'gazed' was also used in relation to Big Brother’s image. Point out that Orwell's use of 'gazed' is both structural and intentional: in Chapter 1, Winston gazes at the poster and feels fear; by Chapter 23, he gazes at the telescreen image and feels love. The surveillance system remains unchanged — what has shifted is Winston's inner feelings, and the novel's tragedy lies in the reader's inability to separate love from fear. Highlight how the final four-word sentence — 'He loved Big Brother.' — stands out as the shortest in the closing pages of the novel, and that its simplicity represents the formal realization of the self's obliteration.

   Independent task

   Write a comprehensive analytical essay of 600–800 words that argues how Orwell illustrates the structural journey from Chapter 1 to Chapter 23 to convey that the ultimate and defining purpose of totalitarianism is the destruction of individual identity. Your essay should: begin with a clear, debatable thesis that goes beyond the simplistic view that 'Orwell shows that totalitarianism is bad'; include a detailed analysis of the verb 'gazed' as it is used in both Chapter 1 (referring to the poster in the landing of Victory Mansions) and Chapter 23 (the final paragraph of the Chestnut Tree Café scene), discussing what this repetition reveals about the Party's accomplishments; explore at least one instance of Winston's private resistance from Chapters 6, 9, or 12, and explain how this moment intensifies the impact of the ending in Chapter 23; quote and analyze O'Brien's line 'If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever' from Chapter 21, connecting it to the novel's conclusion; and finish by discussing the Appendix's use of the past tense as a way for Orwell to deny the Party the final say. Be sure to include at least six quotations from the novel, each followed by an analysis of specific word choices.

   Exit ticket

   Re-read your own thesis sentence. Write one sentence explaining what a reader who disagreed with your thesis might argue — and then write one sentence saying which piece of textual evidence from Chapters 22 or 23 you would use to answer that counter-argument.

Activities

Assessment

• Lesson 1 exit ticket: checks whether students can connect a specific architectural detail (the Ministry of Love's windowlessness) to an abstract claim about the nature of power, rather than simply describing the building.
• Lesson 2 exit ticket: checks whether students can complete a structured analytical claim using specific textual evidence from Chapter 12, distinguishing between what the room means to Winston and what Orwell's imagery implies about its fate.
• Lesson 3 exit ticket: checks whether students have understood the Appendix's past tense as a structural argument embedded in the novel's form, and can name the specific grammatical feature that carries this meaning.
• Lesson 4 exit ticket: checks whether students can articulate what makes O'Brien's theory of power more disturbing than instrumental theories of power, and can anchor this to a specific phrase from Chapter 21.
• Lesson 5 exit ticket: checks whether students can identify a counter-argument to their own thesis and select specific evidence from Chapters 22 or 23 to answer it — a marker of genuine analytical control rather than assertion.

Standards covered

Common Core 11 12

• RL.11-12.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
• RL.11-12.3 — Analyse the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g. where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
• RL.11-12.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyse the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.
• RL.11-12.5 — Analyse how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.

AP Literature

• Literary Argumentation (LAN-1) — Develop a thesis that interprets a literary text and defend it with evidence and commentary.
• Figurative Language (FIG-1) — Explain the function of specific words and phrases in a literary text, including connotation, metaphor and structural repetition.
• Character (CHR-1) — Analyse how an author's choices about how to develop characters contribute to an interpretation of a literary work as a whole.
• Structure (STR-1) — Explain how the sequence and juxtaposition of events, images or ideas in a literary text contribute to its overall meaning.

AQA

• AO1 — Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology, and coherent, accurate written expression.
• AO2 — Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts, including Orwell's use of narrative voice, structural echo, and the rhetoric of O'Brien's speeches.
• AO3 — Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received, including Stalinist totalitarianism, Orwell's wartime BBC experience, and the post-war political climate of 1949.
• AO5 — Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations, including readings of the Appendix as an embedded counter-narrative to the Party's project.

Edexcel

• AO1 — Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology and coherent, accurate written expression.
• AO2 — Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts, with particular attention to Orwell's structural choices, narrative form and lexical patterning across Chapters 1 to 23.
• AO3 — Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received, including the political context of Stalinist totalitarianism and Orwell's own experience of institutional propaganda at the BBC.

IB Lit

• Criterion A — Knowledge, understanding and interpretation: demonstrate detailed knowledge of Nineteen Eighty-Four and construct interpretations supported by precise textual reference.
• Criterion B — Analysis and evaluation: analyse how Orwell's choices of language, structure and form — including the Appendix's past tense and the repetition of 'gazed' — create meaning and achieve effects.
• Criterion C — Focus and organisation: develop a sustained, coherent argument across an extended piece of writing rather than a series of disconnected observations.