Into the Text
Excerpts from 1984
In the beginning of 1984, there’s an extensive scene in which Winston has purchased a notebook and writing supplies, and he has decided to do something that his government does not want him to do--to keep a diary. “This was not illegal (nothing was illegal, since there were no longer any laws), but if detected it was reasonably certain that it would be punished by death, or at least by twenty-five years in a forced-labour camp” (11). Together, we are going to do close reading of a few passages in which Winston references his use of the diary, including his defiant act of writing “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” multiple times and committing “Thoughtcrime.” The concept of Winston committing Thoughtcrime by writing in a book shows the power of writing as a revolutionary act, especially in the setting of the story in which the character Winston lives.
Students will read and annotate the printed excerpts and answer the following prompt in their notebooks: “After reading these excerpts from the beginning of the novel, analyze the implication of the act that Winston commits. What is the action, and why is it significant to him?” Once students have gathered their thoughts, students would share in pairs and contribute to a Jamboard discussion--adding virtual post-its to a board that the whole class has access to-- before an informal class discussion on the topic where students could share their thoughts out loud.
This activity and discussion would happen before students begin reading the book for two reasons: first, students will get a taste of Orwell’s writing style in a whole-class activity; second, we will be able to place emphasis on a theme that we will revisit later as a class multiple times. Orwell’s important theme of committing revolutionary acts connects deeply to his portrayal of the inequality between those who are in power and those who are not, which is clearly shown through the portrayal of the proles, but is also shown in the portrayal of those who are in the “upper class” parties as well.
“It’s All Political” and “The New Colossus”
First, as a preview of the focus we will utilize in this unit, we will read a quote from How to Read Literature Like a Professor (For Kids), specifically Chapter 12: “It’s All Political.” The author clarifies that “What I mean by ‘political’ is writing that thinks about human problems, about how human beings in groups get along, about the rights individuals possess (or should), and about the wrongs committed by those in power” (12), and that is the framework within which I want my students to think about 1984.
However, first we will practice applying this idea to a smaller text--the poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus--to briefly discuss immigration issues in the United States. The first essay type that we will be writing in the class will be poetry analysis, taught alongside the 1984 content, and analyzing this poem according to the following prompt: “Analyze the statement that Lazarus is making in her poem using imagery and dialogue.” will prepare them for the poetry analysis essay as well as practice applying a political lens to a text.
This activity will be printed out, and students will annotate the poem in their notebooks, identifying imagery and dialogue. Then, students will create an over-arching question: for example, the prompt will become “How does Lazarus use imagery and dialogue to make a statement in the poem, and what is that statement?” Students will then come up with a thesis that answers both the prompt and over-arching question. The question will help guide them to clearer thesis statements that actually answer the prompt. Finally, students will write down evidence and analysis that supports their thesis statements. Once students have worked on their own, we will work together as a class to repeat the process, especially to model for students who may not know how to approach the poem on their own at this point in the school year.
Analyzing the statement that “The New Colossus” is making--which may be found by students to be political, especially because it concerns immigration--will help students both prepare to write that essay and practice applying socio-political analysis to another, shorter text. Then, once students have applied this framework to “The New Colossus,” we will shift our focus to Orwell.
Scavenger Hunt
Before we dive into the main text, my students and I will investigate George Orwell’s biographical information and historical context as well as different types of government. Students will complete a scavenger hunt investigating these concepts before we discuss them as a class, utilizing research and citation skills as they practice finding information rather than copying it down from a slide provided by the teacher. Texts that would be made available to students would include Orwell’s essays “The Lion and the Unicorn” and “Why I Write.” This will help students connect the concept of political commentary to the specific political landscape about which Orwell was writing, whether directly or indirectly.
The scavenger hunt itself includes the following directions: “Before we begin reading, we are going to do some research on George Orwell, the historical context in which he was writing, and general information about different government systems. Make sure to write in complete sentences and cite your sources. You can use direct quotes or paraphrase.” Prompts include, among others:
- When did George Orwell live?
- List three major historical events that occurred during Orwell’s lifetime.
- About what historical event is Orwell’s book, Homage to Catalonia?
- What does “Orwellian” mean?
- Summarize one of the six steps towards English Socialism that Orwell describes in “The Lion and the Unicorn.”
- What are the four reasons why people write, according to Orwell?
- Define the following forms of government: totalitarianism, authoritarianism, monarchy, oligarchy, republic, direct democracy, anarchy, socialism, and fascism.
Making these connections is again imperative to the idea that there are texts that have significance within a larger context (sociopolitical, biographical, historical, etc.). To share answers, I will assign pairs of students to create a slide for each of the answers. Then, when the slides have been fact checked, we will compile the slides and share them with the rest of the class. This will serve as a way for students to correct their own scavenger hunt activities.
Comments: