Socratic Seminar Preparation #4

   Part I.

  Winston is arrested, interrogated, and tortured by the prison guards as well as O'Brien. For a long    time, Winston refused to give up his beliefs.  Finally, after going to Room 101 and being tortured with his fear of rats, he betrays Julia and recognizes his love for Big Brother.

Part II.

Level 2:

-Why does Winston not know when he is being arrested?
    There are two scenarios that could be possible.  One is that he was most likely knocked out by the guards, so therefore he would have no sense of time.  Another possibility is that the Party manipulated time so that people would be confused as to what day it was.  Those are two scenarios that are possible.(Logos)

-What does Orwell mean by "unexpected movements" on page 201?
    The term "unexpected movements" refers to any movement that does not include someone sitting still with their hands in their laps.  For instance, when Winston put a hand in his pocket, he was promptly yelled at by the telescreen. This shows that the government controls the movements that the prisoners make. (Logos)

-Why do the common criminals in the book act badly, but political prisoners don't?
     The criminals act badly because they most likely already had behavioral problems which led to them becoming criminals.  The political prisoners didn't commit a huge crime, it was just thoughtcrime. They are also not used to going to jail, whereas the common criminals most likely are.  (Logos)

-Were all of the political prisoners beaten to rid them of intelligence?
      It is very likely that all of the political prisoners were beaten.  The interrogators were trying to get the political prisoners to believe in what the Party wants them to believe in, so they beat the prisoners' true beliefs right out of them. (Logos)

-Why is O'Brien inflicting pain on Winston?
       O'Brien is an interrogator for the Party.  He is trying to get Winston to drop his old beliefs and adopt those of the Party.  Every time Winston said something that O'Brien didn't like, he was in pain. . This is a way to "cure" Winston. (Logos)

-What does Winston's refusal to adopt the thinking that O'Brien wants him to show about him?
       It shows that Winston wants to stay true to himself and who he is. He doesn't care what anyone else thinks about him, even if he could potentially be persecuted for it.  He is more interested in staying true to himself then thinking about what everyone else wants him to think. (Pathos)

Level 3:

-How would you feel if you were a parent and your kid turned you over to the police?
        I would feel betrayed because I had raised the kid and done so much for them, and they turned me over to the police.  Especially if I felt that I hadn't done anything wrong, I would be hurt.  However, if I was living in that society, I would expect it because that was the norm in Oceania. (Pathos)

-Would prison guards be able to get away with injuring someone so badly in our society?
        Prison guards in county jails would not be able to get away with beating someone up so badly because they could get in trouble.  However, the guards at a facility such as Guantanomo Bay would be able to get away with it because they are dealing with possible terrorists, so they would be allowed to  torture the suspects. (Logos/Ethos)

-In Oceania, the Party watches its citizens almost all the time.  How is this evident in society today?
    In the US, Edward Snowden leaked information from NSA.  NSA has records of phone calls and Google searches done by people, so they know what a lot of people are doing.  Google tracks the searches done on a computer by a certain person, so certain ads pop up advertising something similar to what the person is searching online.  Also, the US has spied on officials in other countries, such as Russia. (Logical)

Part III.

"'You don't think they'll shoot me, do you, old chap?  They don't shoot you if you haven't actually done anything-only thoughts, which you can't help?  I know they give you a fair hearing.'"(Page 207)

"The beatings grew less frequent, and became mainly a threat, a horror to which he could be sent back at any moment when his answers were unsatisfactory."(Page 215)