Part I: Summarization
Winston and Julia are captured by
the Thought Police and sent to prison.
Winston is brainwashed and tortured until he is forced to believe the
ideology of the Party and love Big Brother.
His love for Julia is destroyed, as is her love for him.
Part II: Question Development
What values does the Party fear?
When Ampleforth is put in jail with
Winston, he says he was put there because he “allowed the word ‘God’ at the end
of a line [of a poem].” This shows that
the Party fears religious devotion, as it might spur hope of revolution. This contrasts with modern popular belief in
the freedom of religion and the freedom to worship any god. Ethical appeal.
What evidence suggests that
criminals are still loyal to the Party?
When Winston asks who denounced
Parsons, Parsons replies “‘It was my little daughter’…with a sort of doleful
pride.” This shows that even though
Parsons is imprisoned, he still remains loyal to the Party by agreeing with his
punishment. Logical appeal.
What evidence suggests that Big
Brother is not alive?
When Winston is in prison, he asks O’Brien
if Big Brother is alive in the same way that he is, with arms and legs and u
unique absolute location in space, to which O’Brien replies “It is of no
importance. He exists.” This shows a certain level of doubt in O’Brien
as he does not fully answer the question and tries to change the subject,
suggesting that Big Brother might not be real.
Logical appeal.
What suggests that Oceania has
hindered scientific progression?
O’Brien states that “The earth is
the center of the universe. The sun and
the stars go round it.” This ideology
was an ancient thought prevalent before Renaissance times, and modern science
shows that the sun is the center of the universe, which is the popular belief
of all educated people. Ethical appeal.
To what extent can the Party control
humans?
When discussing future Party plans,
O’Brien mentions that that “We shall abolish orgasm.” This idea seems too farfetched for a
government to exert on its people.
Therefore the Party is shown to be capable of controlling minds but its
power is restricted concerning human instincts.
Logical appeal.
Based on the end of the book, is the
authority of the Party really absolute?
The last words of the story are “[Winston]
had won the victory over himself. He
loved Big Brother.” This goes directly against
Winston’s rebellious attitude towards the party before he was sent to prison
and brainwashed. This shows that humans
are powerless in the face of the Party, and therefore that the party’s rule is unstoppable. Logical appeal.
How strongly is human emotion
influenced by other people?
Without the influence of other human
beings, emotions such as love and pain cannot exist because they are impossible
to apply to someone else. Therefore,
human contact is necessary for the development of emotion. Emotional appeal.
Does human powerlessness actually
exist?
Human powerlessness does exist
because in the face of natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornados, and
tsunamis, humans cannot do much to prevent these tragedies. In a way, despite the pollution and
deforestation of the planet, humans will never be able to gain power of
nature. Logical appeal.
Are humans weaker or stronger in the
face of death?
In the face of death, humans are
stronger because they are forced to accept their imminent death, regardless of
if they want it or not. This takes a
certain courage which is only accessible if one is really faced with life and
death situations. Logical appeal.
Part III: Tracking Evidence
“‘It was my little daughter,’ said Parsons
with a sort of doleful pride. ‘She
listened at the keyhole. Heard what I
was saying, and nipped off to the patrols the very next day. Pretty smart for a nipper of seven, eh?’”
(Page 233)
“The beatings grew less frequent,
and became mainly a threat, a horror to which he could not be sent back at any
moment when his answers were unsatisfactory.” (Page 241)
No comments:
Post a Comment