Special Sub-Topic: 1984 Click Here To Play: 1984

First sentence - the clock was striking what time?

Thirteen. The sentence is setting the tone of the book. We have "bright cold day in April" and a clock striking thirteen. A contradiction and something unusual. You can tell from the first 5 seconds that this book will be something different.

Where did Winston go the previous evening?

The flicks. To watch a dull film about yet another atrocity committed somewhere in the Mediterranean.

Who throws the book at the telescreen during Goldstein's speech?

Julia. Although she later admits that the hardest thing about the Two-Minutes hate is not bursting out in laughter.

Syme was a member of the Chess club.

T. Winston noticed that he seems to have vanished. A look at the notice board at work confirms that his name has been erased from the Chess Club list.

What does Julia suggest sprinkling on the floor to get rid of the rats?

Black Pepper. OK, little bit of an easy question but in a country where there is widespread rationing, what can you do?

Which one of these cities is the odd one out?

Algiers. The fourth city would be Tangiers. In Goldstein's book, he describes a quadrant of the globe with points at those cities. In this quadrilateral, the world's 3 superpowers are constantly fighting each other for possession.

What is the "Newspeak" word for the Ministry of Love?

Miniluv. The other three being Minipax, Miniplen and Minitrue, or to you and me, Ministry of Peace, Ministry of Plenty and Ministry of Truth. Carrying on the novel's central theme of doublespeak, their names actually are the opposite of what they claim to concern themselves with.

O'Brien claims Winston smells like what after weeks of torture in the Ministry of Love?

A Goat. Not only does he smell, but his hair has completely fallen out, his teeth are rotting stumps, his clothes are rags and his body has lost 20 kilos.

What does Winston write on the slate which he thinks is going to get him into trouble?

God is Power. He writes "Down with Big Brother" in his diary and he exclaims "Julia, Julia, my love Julia" whilst in his cell. John Hurt, who plays Winston in the 1984 film version of the book, does state "I am a man" but did so in the film "The Elephant Man".

Does Winston die at the end of the book?

n. Although the book refers to the long-awaited bullet entering his brain, this is merely an imaginary bullet mentally killing the old Winston and leaving the new one who loves Big Brother. "He won the victory over himself, he loved Big Brother," is the last sentence in the book.