Writing ideas for 1984/V for Vendetta
Below, please find various examples of how to interact with Orwell's novel. Examining some of this will also prepare you for the test on 1984 on Monday.
Use any of the following genres to write: short story, poem cycle (at least 3 connected thematically poems or a poem in at least 3 parts), creative non-fiction, script, graphic novel script, or other.
Use a quote from the book to write about our own situation/culture, etc.
"People shouldn't be afraid of their governments; governments should be afraid of their people." -- V for Vendetta
"Nearly all children nowadays were horrible. What was the worst of all was that by means of such organizations as the Spies they were systematically turned into ungovernable little savages, and yet this produced in them no tendency whatever to rebel agains tht ehdiscipline of the Party. On the contrary, they adored the Party and everything connected with it...it was a sort of glorious game to them." - 1984, pg. 24.
"You wear a mask for so long you forget who you are beneath it." - V for Vendetta.
When 1984 opens, we watch Winston do something that is not "allowed" by the government. He writes in his book, for example, with guilt and frustration. When V for Vendetta begins, we watch Evie in her flat "doll herself up" then break curfew. Both crimes against the totalitarian state. Write a story where the opening scene reveals your protagonist doing something they shouldn't, but must - perhaps feeling guilty about it.
What questions arise as you read about the culture and world which Orwell or Alan Moore is creating in their works? Make a list. Pick one, then write about it.
Reread your definition of culture. How does the culture in 1984 or V for Vendetta seem to work? You may find it helpful to identify what kinds of organizations, institutions, groups, and traditions are held by the characters. Now make a comment about your own institutions, groups, traditions? Are there any similiarities?
Examine Double-speak in our own culture. In 1984: War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength, are party slogans. What are some party slogans in our culture/government?
Explain the idea how writing is an act of rebellion. Write what should not be written. Make your own writing “dangerous” or “relevant” or “political.” You are safe in this course to do so. Speak and finally write your mind (even if what you say makes you sound horrible).
What sort of ministries do we have in our government? Discuss or write about how many people or groups dictate where you can go, what you can do? What barriers or restrictions are placed on your freedom in the “land of the free, home of the brave”?
Make a list of who you would likely see in our own times and culture at the “two minute hate”. How are the targets of our societal hate kept in their places?
Do we have “thought police” in our own culture? If so, who and what do they do?
What is the significance of Newspeak over Oldspeak? What sorts of words are no longer used by your generation? How does slang take over where opression is found? What happens when slang becomes majority?
What kind of work does Winston do? What is the significance of this occupation? What sorts of institutions do we have in our own culture that might be able to pull something like this off?
Writing idea: create a fictional person and then write them into history. Place them alongside other historical figures.
Writing idea: Go to the website: http://phrontistery.info, click on the COMPENDIUM of LOST WORDS. Look through these lists of words and “revive” some of them in a freewriting poem, short story, etc.
Choose an idea from the media or from your own experiences or from what you are learning or interested about that is, at its core, a political idea. You may model your work on a theme we have covered in class or while reading Orwell’s 1984.
For the test: Know the protagonist, antagonist; be aware of foreshadowing used in the book; be aware of allusions; think about the significance of the nursery rhymes and the black book. Be aware of doublespeak, 2-minute hate, thought police, ministry of truth, room 101, etc.
Use any of the following genres to write: short story, poem cycle (at least 3 connected thematically poems or a poem in at least 3 parts), creative non-fiction, script, graphic novel script, or other.
Use a quote from the book to write about our own situation/culture, etc.
"People shouldn't be afraid of their governments; governments should be afraid of their people." -- V for Vendetta
"Nearly all children nowadays were horrible. What was the worst of all was that by means of such organizations as the Spies they were systematically turned into ungovernable little savages, and yet this produced in them no tendency whatever to rebel agains tht ehdiscipline of the Party. On the contrary, they adored the Party and everything connected with it...it was a sort of glorious game to them." - 1984, pg. 24.
"You wear a mask for so long you forget who you are beneath it." - V for Vendetta.
When 1984 opens, we watch Winston do something that is not "allowed" by the government. He writes in his book, for example, with guilt and frustration. When V for Vendetta begins, we watch Evie in her flat "doll herself up" then break curfew. Both crimes against the totalitarian state. Write a story where the opening scene reveals your protagonist doing something they shouldn't, but must - perhaps feeling guilty about it.
What questions arise as you read about the culture and world which Orwell or Alan Moore is creating in their works? Make a list. Pick one, then write about it.
Reread your definition of culture. How does the culture in 1984 or V for Vendetta seem to work? You may find it helpful to identify what kinds of organizations, institutions, groups, and traditions are held by the characters. Now make a comment about your own institutions, groups, traditions? Are there any similiarities?
Examine Double-speak in our own culture. In 1984: War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength, are party slogans. What are some party slogans in our culture/government?
Explain the idea how writing is an act of rebellion. Write what should not be written. Make your own writing “dangerous” or “relevant” or “political.” You are safe in this course to do so. Speak and finally write your mind (even if what you say makes you sound horrible).
What sort of ministries do we have in our government? Discuss or write about how many people or groups dictate where you can go, what you can do? What barriers or restrictions are placed on your freedom in the “land of the free, home of the brave”?
Make a list of who you would likely see in our own times and culture at the “two minute hate”. How are the targets of our societal hate kept in their places?
Do we have “thought police” in our own culture? If so, who and what do they do?
What is the significance of Newspeak over Oldspeak? What sorts of words are no longer used by your generation? How does slang take over where opression is found? What happens when slang becomes majority?
What kind of work does Winston do? What is the significance of this occupation? What sorts of institutions do we have in our own culture that might be able to pull something like this off?
Writing idea: create a fictional person and then write them into history. Place them alongside other historical figures.
Writing idea: Go to the website: http://phrontistery.info, click on the COMPENDIUM of LOST WORDS. Look through these lists of words and “revive” some of them in a freewriting poem, short story, etc.
Choose an idea from the media or from your own experiences or from what you are learning or interested about that is, at its core, a political idea. You may model your work on a theme we have covered in class or while reading Orwell’s 1984.
For the test: Know the protagonist, antagonist; be aware of foreshadowing used in the book; be aware of allusions; think about the significance of the nursery rhymes and the black book. Be aware of doublespeak, 2-minute hate, thought police, ministry of truth, room 101, etc.
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