Question 1: 1984

* what is the major theme of this novel? why is this theme important to a teenager living in 2007?

The major theme of the novel 1984 is about power and how the government chooses to use it. This theme is important to a teenager living in 2007 because we have to be aware of how the government uses its power and the government uses its power for. All groups of people should be aware of the actions of their own government and the decisions it makes, because it can affect them.

In the novel, the party had absolute control of the state. I think that the question that haunts readers today after reading 1984 is: Could the world in 1984 ever really exist? Sadly, in some areas of the world this may be true, but perhaps not as extreme as in the novel.

Another major theme in this novel is history, and understanding the truth of where you've come from. The history of country or region is what shapes it and molds it. In the novel, the government manipulated history and shaped it so that it didn't contradicte anything that Big Brother said. One of the main reasons Winston rebelled against the government was because he wanted to know the whole history and not a false history that resulted in the false reality in which he was living. The party knew the importance and influence that history could have on the people and so to avoided rebellion and conflicts by eliminating all the history before Big Brother.