1984 Socratic Seminar Preparation 4

Laura Schwartz

Period 1

5/18/14

1984 Socratic Seminar Preparation 4

Part I: Summary

In Book three, Winston and Julia were tortured to the point where they betrayed each other. They no longer love each other and both have submitted to the beliefs of the party.

Part II: Questions

Level 2 Questions

1.     Do you think that the Parsons children were evil for turning their father into the thought-police?

I do not think that the Parsons children are necessarily evil for turning their father into the thought-police. Although it was a horrible thing for the children to do, they did not know any better because throughout their whole lives the party had manipulated them.

2.     What do you think the goal of torturing prisoners is for the party?

I think that the party tortures prisoners, as a way of forcing them to submit to the control of the party. Under such severe pain, people will usually try to do anything to escape the pain. This ultimately led Winston into accepting whatever O’Brien told him, and that was probably the party’s goal.

3.     Why do you think Winston felt so gracious and loving towards O’Brien after O’Brien noted his strength?

I think that Winston was going slightly crazy when he was being tortured. Torture and pain can cause you to not think straight. Emotions were probably spinning through Winston’s head, so when O’Brien said something along the lines of kind, Winston became overwhelmed with gratitude.

4.     Do you think it was wrong of Winston to betray Julia?

I do not think Winston betrayed Julia, just to throw her under the bus. It was not wrong of him to betray her because he did it instinctively. He was not thinking clearly and he was terrified. The party had messed him up psychologically to the point where he betrayed the one he loved.

5.     Why do you think Winston no longer felt love for Julia?

I think that Winston no longer felt love for Julia because the party had completely broken him. After being tortured, he began to think like the party and took no interest in love anymore. The party won full control over his mind and he could not go back to loving Julia.

6.     Why do you think Big Brother made Winston feel happy and safe at the end of the book?

I think Big Brother made Winston feel happy and safe at the end of the book because the party had completely altered Winston’s way of thinking. The party made Winston love Big Brother. Winston most likely feels safe when he sees Big Brother because he knows that if he submits to Big Brother, the party will not go after him.

Level 3 Questions

1.     Can torture break the strongest relationship?

I think that torture can break any relationship because when a person is tortured all they can think about is their own survival and escaping the torture. When you are being tortured, you are not thinking clearly and you do not think about your love for another person. All you want is to escape that torture, so the other person and the relationship becomes irrelevant.

2.     Can totalitarian regimes truly win control over peoples’ minds?

Right now, I do not think totalitarian regimes can truly win control over peoples’ minds because they do not have the technology to do so. Unlike in 1984, for instance, today we don’t have thought-police where we can constantly monitor peoples’ thoughts. Totalitarian regimes can punish and torture those who rebel and cause them to submit to their way of thinking, but they cannot invade or control the thoughts of everyone.

3.     Can totalitarian regimes be good for people?

I do not think totalitarian regimes can be good for people. I do not think that any form of government that tries to control and oppress people so much can be good. Even if the government is doing good things, it is very restrictive and people would not have basic rights, or freedom.

Quotes:

1.     “ War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength.” (Party slogans)

2.     “You want it to happen to the other person. You don’t give a damn what they suffer. All you care about is yourself.” (Julia describing her betrayal against Winston, when the party tortured her)

1984 Socratic Seminar Reflection 3

1984 Socratic Seminar Reflection

           This socratic seminar influenced my way of thinking on the issue of love. I thought that it was interesting to talk about Winston and Julia's relationship and whether we thought that they were actually in love. I thought that Julia's perception of love had been skewed because she had randomly sent Winston a note saying that she loved him and she had been having sex with other men. However, something that made me think more in depth was the whole notion of love. Who's to say that Julia's perception of love is wrong? Maybe people in our society do not have the "right" perception of love. I realized that there might not be a "right" or "wrong" way to love. I came to the conclusion that love is what you make it, and the individual should decide what love means to them.

           I most agreed with a statement made by my classmate that they thought it was strange of Julia to randomly slip Winston a note saying "I love you". Julia had not said a word to Winston before but out of the blue, she told him that she loved him. The statement that I agreed with the least was when someone said that all things come to an end. I do not necessarily think all things come to an end. I think a lot of things in our world have been around for a long time. I think that some things in the world will always last. If I had the chance to say one more thing, I would asked about the singing prole woman in 1984 and what she symbolized. I would have asked about the singing prole woman because I was really curious about her symbolic significance in the story. 

           One thing that worked really well for the socratic seminar was the fact that we started the seminar early, when we did not have a teacher to supervise us. I thought that it was really responsible and mature of us to take the initiative to start the seminar on our own. As usual, it was nice how everyone was respectful to one another and each of us listened to each other. Lastly, I thought the discussion leader did a good job of incorporating different people into the discussion.

           Overall this socratic seminar went very well. One thing that could use improvement in the future would be if we are ever in the situation where we need to start the seminar by ourselves again, everyone needs to be cooperative and help start the seminar. The people on the inside did a good job of starting the discussion and keeping it going. However, some people on the outside were disrespectful because they would not stop talking while we were trying to have our discussion. Other than that, our seminar went well.

1984 Socratic Seminar Reflection 2

                                                      1984 Socratic Seminar Reflection 2

     This socratic seminar caused me to think more about the government of dystopian societies. I had not really thought of the fact that poorer people or people known as the "proles" in 1984, could have more freedom than minor party members in the story. During this socratic seminar, I began to think about that the people who are most intelligent in dystopian societies, are the ones most feared and disliked by the government. The intelligent people are more monitored than the poor and uneducated because the government feels most threatened by them. I had not really thought in depth before that the more educated you are in dystopian societies, the less freedom you have.

     One statement made by one of my peers that I most agreed with was about sexual activity in the society of 1984. I agreed with someone who said that the reason why the government allows sex is for the purpose of producing the next generation of party members. I agreed with this statement because I think the party is trying to continue its rule for many generations to come. There was nothing I recall completely disagreeing with. I pretty much agreed with what everyone had to say. I cannot really think of anything else I would have said during the seminar because I spoke a lot and think that I said everything that I wanted to say.

     I think the fact that we had a discussion leader worked well for the seminar. I think that the discussion leader did a good job of keeping the discussion on track. Also, the discussion leader did a good job of making sure that everyone got the chance to participate. I thought it was really great that everyone got the chance to participate in the seminar because it enriched our discussion.

     One thing that could use improvement for our seminar is possibly using the rhetorical device of ethos more. I thought that we did a good job of incorporating our pathos and logos rhetorical devices. However, next seminar we should work on incorporating more ethos appeals. I think that the biggest thing we could improve on for our socratic seminar is having a balanced discussion where we use all rhetorical devices equally.