By exposing the encroachments of the technological, highly centralized state on the individual, by discussing the struggle in the universities between authority and dissent, and by exploring the problems of an "air-conditioned," dehumanized world, teachers can bring new meaning to the study of "1984"--a novel which seems little more than a distressing piece of science fiction when viewed by politically ignorant students. The Orwellian vision of this struggle between life-denying groups and humanists provides a healthy point of departure for student inquiry into the nature of those problems and may point to possible solutions. (MF)