1984 and Context: Mix and Match

Once Stalin 'removed' a political enemy from Soviet society he then had all photographs of that person either destroyed or altered. The above image demonstrates the removal of a Soviet naval officer who disappeared during the 'Purges'. Orwell writes of similar phenomena in 1984.

A little while ago I posted a Preliminary HSC Advanced English resource for matching up the events of Animal Farm with examples from Soviet history; illustrating certain comparisons that show just how closely George Orwell modelled his animal characters and their farm on Russia circa 1917-1940. 

The HSC Advanced English Intertextual Perspectives module develops the analytical skills of Year 12 students further through a comparative study of Orwell's 1984 and Fritz Lang's Metropolis. In the case of 1984, totalitarian histories and culture (predominantly the Soviets and the Nazis) are reflected in the text almost as much, if not more, than they are in Animal Farm. 

The resource below collects together a series of events and elements from both 1984 and Nazi/Soviet history that could be said to correspond with one another. Students read through both columns and match up the aspects of history that fit with Orwell's dystopian classic, building up their contextual knowledge to support a more holistic understanding of the concepts that Orwell was writing about.

1984 and 20th Century Totalitarian states - Mix and Match Activity 

Here are the answers for teacher-reference:

A.  The Nazis used the euphemisms 'special treatment' or 'special lodging' to refer to those they had identified in camps for executions matches with The 'Ministry of Love' is where political enemies go to be tortured and executed. It's name, along with other government departments, is euphemistic and ironic.

B. Leon Trotsky was a Jewish-Ukrainian intellectual with a pointed goatee. He fled the Soviet Union after becoming Stalin's enemy. Stalin 'purged' millions of Russians for allegedly being Trotskyists (followers of Trotsky) matches with The number 1 enemy of the state is Emmanuel Goldstein, a 'goat-like' intellectual with a Jewish name who had fled overseas. His followers are said to be secretly working to bring the State down from within.

C. The working class is known as the 'proletariat' in Marxist theory. Due to Russia's vast area, many peasants in more remote areas are able to live with a larger degree of freedom matches with The working class are referred to as the 'proles', and are given a larger degree of freedom than Party members due to their perceived lack of civilisation.

D. The Cold War saw the nations of the world divided into three major blocks - the West Bloc (USA and its allies), the East Bloc (the Communists), and the Third World (undeveloped countries). The 'war' between the two bigger sides was never straightforward and involved complicated alliances that led to smaller wars (EG. The Korean War) matches with The nations of the world are arranged into three major groups and locked in a perpetual state of stalemate against one another, with their alliances constantly changing.

E. Nazi children in WWII were encouraged to join the 'Hitler Youth'. In the Soviet Union, children were encouraged to be loyal to the State rather than their families matches with Children are encouraged to join the Spies (a youth group) and the Anti-Sex League, where they are brainwashed and indoctrinated into obeying the State.

F. The Soviet Union and other communist East European countries frequently experienced shortages and electricity failures matches with The nation is in a constant state of disarray and inconvenience - Winston notes at the novel's beginning that the electricity rarely works.

G. Propaganda for the Soviet Five Year Plans featured the slogan "2+2=5" to represent Stalin's wish to complete the five year plan in just four years matches with As a symbol of his brainwashing, Winston is made to believe than 2 + 2 = 5.

H. The Bolshevik Party, who came to rule the Soviet Union and outlawed all political parties, were usually referred to only as the Party matches with Winston's country is ruled by a government known only as the Party.

I. Many Russian political prisoners were sent to the Gulags; harsh labour camps in remote areas matches with Reference is made to 'forced labour' camps where political prisoners are sent to work as slaves for many years.

J. The Soviet Union regularly invented statistics to demonstrate the rate of progress to Russians matches with Announcements are made regularly to remind citizens of the progress the Party has made, EG. Standard of living has improved by 20% in the last year.

K. Stalin tried to speed up industrialisation of Russia with several 'Five Year Plans' matches with The Party drives the economy with a 'Three Year Plan'.

M. The Soviet union started with the success of the 1917 Revolution and its anniversary was celebrated every ten years after matches with The 'Revolution' is alluded to as the most important event in the Party's history.

N. Britain had a history of ruling/subjugating India as a colony matches with Reference is made to a war front in Malabar, India.

O. Stalin's 'Purges' involved the arrest of many everyday people, most of whom were never seen again, and had their names wiped from all records matches with Winston describes the night-time abduction of people who would 'simply disappear' and never be referred to again.

P. Soviet workers were encouraged through propaganda to follow the example of Stakhanov, the 'perfect' Soviet worker matches with The Party invents a fake Party member, Comrade Ogilvy, to be used as a hero in propaganda.

Q. Those abducted in the Purges were made to publicly confess to their alleged crimes, even if they did not commit said crimes matches with After his capture and interrogation, Winston is broken and made to believe in the Party once again. He is allowed to re-enter society but will be executed at some point in the future.

R. The Communist Party in Russia was ruled by a Central Committee who enjoyed many luxuries. The other Party members numbered in the millions and helped to runt he Soviet Union matches with There is an Inner Party (where the ruling members enjoy many luxuries) and an Outer Party (the bureaucracy).

S. Stalin's likeness could be found everywhere in the Soviet Union during his reign - in every house and in every city - as pictures, posters, and statues matches with Posters of Big Brother are everywhere, accompanied with the phrase 'Big Brother is Watching You'.

Laying a Foundation: Context and 1984

Image from the film version of 1984

I'm about to teach the Intertextual Perspectives 1984 and Metropolis comparative study for HSC Advanced English, and boy am I excited. Studying 1984 could not have come at a more relevant time... okay, maybe that's a bit hyperbolic, the time in which 1984 was written was probably the most relevant time for it to be read, but my point is that Trump's gobsmacking rise to Presidency in the United States of America has suddenly rendered George Orwell's 1984 a lot more pertinent.  

In just the last week alone, the words 'Orwellian' and '1984' have permeated a near-unprecedented number of news articles and think-pieces, and all in connection to President Donald Trump. 

Here's a quick selection courtesy of a Google search:

2017 isn't '1984' - its a lot stranger than Orwell imagined - The Conversation

Sales of '1984' spike after Kellyanne Conway's 'alternative facts' - Sydney Morning Herald

Orwell's '1984' and Trump's America - The New Yorker

Amazon's Bestseller list takes a dystopian turn in Trump era - CNN

13 Quotes From '1984' That Are Horrifyingly Relevant in 2017 - Bustle

George Orwell's '1984' is a best-seller again. Here's why it resonates now... - PBS

I said to some of my students a few days ago that we're really lucky to have this happening right now because it links really well with what we're learning this term (dystopia, totalitarianism, power and control, etc.) Of course, America and the world in general is a lot less lucky than my classroom because Trump is now one of the most politically powerful figures on Earth. But, you know - small wins. 

My mentor and close friend Kira Bryant once told me that Advanced English hinged on context (I think her exact words were "Context, context context!") Thinking critically about where a text is coming from, the reasons why it was made, how the author intended for it to resonate with audiences, and how it actually resonates with audiences are all things that rely on a strong understanding of context. This is one of the reasons why Modern History and Advanced English are probably so beneficial to one another when students undertake both subjects. Modern History provides a lot of ideological background for texts studied in Advanced.

With 1984 there is a lot to wade through in terms of covering the values, attitudes and events that have influenced Orwell's magnum opus. I've seen various resources that cover everything from Italian fascism to emerging Cold War surveillance technology. All relevant, but all also reflective of each resource-designer's personal context. As teachers we suffer from selection-bias, just like everyone else, and what we choose is reflective of ourselves and not the population as a whole. This isn't a bad thing; our professional qualifications and ongoing professional learning put us in relatively good stead to be imparting knowledge of this kind. Selection-bias does however bear keeping in mind as an explanation for why no two teachers approach the teaching of context in the same way, especially in a subject like English. In short, there's no definitive way to approach this.

The way I prefer to look at Orwell's context for 1984 is as thus:

• Totalitarianism: Looking at this as a form of government with a particular focus on conformity, lack of freedom, and the concept of a one-party state. Students should first engage with this ideology from a relatively objective standpoint - evaluating the benefits and disadvantages of this form of governance before developing their own opinion. 
• Fascism: The terms 'fascism' and 'totalitarianism' aren't mutually exclusive despite being closely linked. It's worth mentioning that the two most famous totalitarians, Stalin and Hitler, occupied horizontal extremes on the political spectrum (with Stalin representing the extreme left, while Hitler was the ultimate in right wing politics). Defining fascism can be a bit challenging as it's a lot more nebulous than socialism, and this is partially due to the fact that it lacks a unifying manifesto like Karl Marx's theory of communism. Most simply put, fascism is both authoritarian and extremely nationalistic (whereas socialism in its purest form rejects the concept of nationhood). 
• Methods of Enforcing Totalitarianism: This is where a little case study of Stalin and Hitler (and maybe, depending on the enthusiasm level of your class, Franco and Mussolini) can come in handy. The 'personality cult' surrounding the leaders of totalitarian regimes is particularly relevant here as it links closely to the way Orwell constructs the figure of 'Big Brother'. Something else to consider is the way that Stalin used propaganda to manipulate the public's perception of Soviet history.
• The Cold War: The way that Eastasia, Oceania and Eurasia relate to each other throughout 1984 is deliberately reminiscent (and remarkably prescient) of the power blocs that emerged during the Cold War. It's no coincidence that the CIA formed just after WWII; this came about in response to the thinly-veiled antagonism that was bubbling away between the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. In terms of 1984, the Cold War's relevance is made clear with references to atomic war and the technological advances brought about by the rise of espionage - things like CCTV, the drug LSD, voice recognition systems, lie detectors, etc.
• George Orwell: Finally, it's worth looking at the context of Orwell himself. A lot of 1984 was fueled by his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, as a military policeman in the British colony of Burma, his time living as a homeless person, and even his personal health. Many allege that writing 1984 was so taxing for the chronically ill Orwell that it actually killed him, and it's not difficult to see Orwell's poor health (driven by smoking and tuberculosis) in the sickly nature of 1984's protagonist, Winston. 

Resource

Context - here is a reading/summary sheet on the wider context of the novel. I'll upload a more specific one that links Soviet history to plot points in 1984 in the next week or so. 

Society in 1930s Stalinist Russia

The HSC Modern History National Study for Russia and the Soviet Union can pose a challenge for Modern History teachers due to the sheer breadth of content that begs to be covered. Aside from the best essay responses on the subject revealing a broad and in-depth contextual knowledge of Bolshevik Russia, it's also a fact that any half-interested History teacher will find it difficult to resist the magnetic pull of Stalinist Russia's more fascinating asides. 

For example, Stalin's second wife Nadezhda was 17 years old when she married the 43 year old Joseph Stalin. And as if that wasn't creepy enough, she was the daughter of one of Stalin's friends and Stalin had known her since she was 4! 

Of course, this is largely irrelevant if your student is faced with an essay question about collectivisation and Stalin's attempts to close the industrial gap between the USSR and the rest of the developed world. But how can we ignore the juicier bits of Russian history when it helps engage our students with the wider narrative surrounding the madness of Stalin's Soviet Union? 

My weakness with this topic is, undoubtedly, the 1930s. I tend to spend the larger slice of time teaching students about the Bolshevik consolidation of power in the 1920s and the move towards the Five Year Plans. The part that I have more trouble disseminating is the various aspects of living in Stalin's totalitarian regime - there just seems to be so much to cover, and I get so fascinated by each and every facet of this intense society that it becomes a bit of a Hobson's choice trying to work out the ones that should make up the narrative that's taught to the students. 

In addition to this challenge, I have to be careful not to ignore the skills-based part of the course. It's very appealing sometimes to just stick to the content and travel through the narrative but Year 12 students need to be able to sit down at the end of the year and write a series of essays in the pressure-cooker that is the HSC. It's sometimes assumed that Modern History students are au fait with structuring essays because the subject is so academic, however, as I've probably mentioned elsewhere on this blog, my Modern History classes tend to range from students who do Advanced English to those who do English Studies. With that in mind, I need to ensure that I'm teaching enough of the skills to support all of my students in being able to communicate what they've learned. 

This means teaching one of the key Super Six Comprehension strategies; summarising. It's easy to associate the Super Six with just primary school and Stages 4 and 5, but it can be dangerous to assume that Stage 6 students are experts at comprehension. Because, well, they often aren't. 

It's never too late to teach literacy.

Here's a resource on society in 1930s USSR: Stalin's Russia. 

And a graphic organiser to go with it: Graphic Organiser for Russian Society.

Get your students to read through the resource and use the graphic organiser to summarise the various aspects of Soviet society under Stalin. The graphic organiser is fairly straight-forward and isn't particularly different to a series of comprehension questions, however, by arranging the information in this fashion students can get an idea on how to separate their ideas. It also acts as a scaffold towards hopefully engaging the kids in creating their own summaries of documents.