Which of these quotations from 1984 is not the best example of Dystopian
literature?
A. "The instrument (the telescreen, it was called, could be dimmed) but there was no
way of shutting it off completely."
B. “There was ſa poster) on the house front immediately opposite. BIG BROTHER IS
WATCHING YOU, the caption said, while the dark eyes looked deep into Winston's
own."
C. "Winston kept his back turned to the telescreen. It was safer; though, as he well
knew, even a back can be revealing."
D. "The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old
rag mats."

Dystopian means a bad future. It is like the Hunger Games or Terminator, where the world has gone a dark path. Bad things are happening in the future that are much worse than they are now. Let's go over the answers.

A. This is totally an example of a dystopian future. You can never turn of the tv completely. It's always on, always there.

B. This is absolutely an example of a dystopian future. This thing, Big Brother, is watching you. If you are always being watched, that is a terrible future. No control, no freedom.

C. This answer goes hand in hand with A. The TV never shuts off, and there is something suspicious about it. This character, Winston, doesn't even feel safe with his back to the TV. The word "revealing" suggests that someone or something could see him through the TV, as if he were revealed and being watched. This is a dystopia.

D. Now, this answer isn't really a dystopia. A bad smell isn't necessarily a future that went down a dark path. The hallway just smells bad. This doesn't match up to A: the TV is always on, B: you are always being watched, and C: the TV is always watching you. The answer is D.