Discussion Facilitator

Discussion Facilitator

How is the developing "rebel" in Winston shown throughout this section of the novel?

For this question our group discussed how there are many different places we see the hints of rebellion rise up in Winston. The obvious first one was that he bought a diary which is against the policy of the party, even more so he began to write in it, which leads to him writing "DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER" multiple times across the page. We also saw of his growing rebellion when he is in the two minutes hate. He makes eye contact with O'Brien and believes that O'Brien is someone he can trust. We also see throughout this section of the novel that Winston questions the system and society he is living in.

Why do you think Orwell chose to use an older, more frail and sick main character (one who the readers predict to turn into the archetypal hero) rather than the young, lively, hopeful character that is present in most other novels?

Our group discussed the idea that Winston is portrayed as more of an anti-hero in 1984. He is not one that you would expect to rise to be the hero, but root for because of that fact. The fact that he's not perfect, makes him more relatable.

Based on what we've read so far, what parallels to historical events and situations can you make to the events and situations happening in the novel?

Our group discussed the obvious parallel to World War 2 and the oppressive Nazi regime. An interesting point came up that the world that Winston lives in could have been based off of the idea of if Hitler had not been defeated, and had prevailed in winning the war, or at least maintaining a huge part of Europe.

How do you expect Winston's relationship with O'Brien to progress, moving further into the novel?

For this question our group said that we thought Winston and O'Brien look like they could progress to become a team. We also wondered whether O'Brien was really good or not. We wondered if he was going to seem good and then sell Winston out. It will be interesting to see whether O'Brien becomes a friend or foe of Winston's.

There has been no mention yet of the "Room 101" except for on the back of the book. Knowing what you know now about the extent of the oppressive society that is Airstrip One, what do you think Room 101 is?

There were many different ideas thrown around about what Room 101 could possibly be. There were many that surrounded torture and death (some nice lighthearted thoughts). Others wondered if Room 101 is anything at all. Could it be that the mystery of Room 101 is being built up to be nothing? For that we shall have to wait and see.

-Evan
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By Katie
   Why do you think the author chose to write the future as a dump and a dingy place, opposed to the high tech society we see written today?

Our group decided that the future was written this way because of the time George Orwell wrote the book in. He wrote this book coming out of war and the great depression, so he didn't picture society and the future getting much better. He shows extremes of capitalism and communism as witnessed during world war two.

   What do you think caused Winston to go searching for what the past was like? Why does he question what is said to be freedom?

Part of what influences Winston's search for truth is his job, he has seen too many lies turned into truth and has even caught the government in a lie. The group also thought that the doubt in society was always apart of him because he got the journal in the first place and it hasn't been until recently that he acted on his suspicions. Since Winston already knows he's going to die he decides that he may as well continue searching.

Why is Winston so paranoid about the girl who keeps appearing everywhere? Who do you think she is?

Winston is so paranoid about this girl because he is lusting after her, but he also thinks she may be an amateur spy who wants to rat him out. He was terrified of his sexual attraction to her. Our group believes she is Julia the girl mentioned on the back of the book, the girl he falls in love with.

If Winston continues to visit the old man's antique shop will this lead to his downfall or him being caught?

Our group thought that this will not lead to his downfall and that it would be something else entirely such as his journal or his constant negative thoughts. We think that the room above the antique shop will turn into a meeting place for those involved in rebellion because of the fact that there is no tele-screen and no one could spy on them there, it's safe.

Why do you think the people believe in these new truths so easily?

A lot of the people we believe succumb to the truths so easily because they are afraid of what will happen if they don't. Most of society is in a way brainwashed so they don't even understand what is going on in society and the government let alone what's the truth and what's a lie. The main reason why is because there is no education on anything except how to be apart of the party and how to abide by the "laws". 


Section 2 -Sylvana

Why do you think the Dark- haired girl was following Winston? Is it possible that she really is thought police or is she maybe following him for another reason?

Our group touched on the point that there was some minute possibility that the girl was not thought police and was in actuality part of the Brotherhood (a rebel group). However, we all agreed that we thought she was thought police or that at very least she knew that Winston was having unorthodox behaviors and would turn him over to the Party for torture.

Do you predict that Winston will eventually commit suicide or be taken by thought police?

In our group few of us thought that Winston may eventually commit suicide since he had hinted at this being a better way out that torture and then death. We all however, believed that Winston would inevitably be captured by the thought police. But again we were uncertain of whether he would commit suicide to get out of it or not.

Winston says that the majority of the population are the Proles and that together they could overthrow Big Brother. Do you think that Winston will eventually try to cause a rebellion? or will he stay silent?

We tried to explore a possibility of Winston cause a rebellion, (which is interesting as it comments on our North American view and understanding of the world. We wanted it to end well and for the characters to have a life like the one experience within a Democratic system.) however, we couldn't picture Winston as someone who could cause, much less lead, a rebellion because his character, everything about him, is so weak, mild, normal. We discussed that he is not a hero, he is a normal person who has suffered and will in all likelihood continue to do so. In conclusion we thought that Winston would stay silent and if there was to be a rebellion it would not occur through him. 

Do you think that it is possible for our society to become like the one in the book? or in an extreme case do you think this type of society is possible world wide? Would the use of fear be effective in controlling the entire human population?

This question experienced much disagreement as the minority of us felt that it was in fact possible based on the past events that were similar to those of the novel. While others thought it not to really be a possibility, mainly I think because of the way we have all grown up and what we have experienced. We could not conceive (fully) of anything other than this society that we live in. Another person, such as one who had immigrated to Canada during WW1, would likely see this as a possibility because they will have had similar experiences and situations to those in the novel (eg being constantly afraid, not knowing if your neighbour would rat you out... etc).
Again some in the group thought that fear would not be a good method with the whole population, based on the humans ultimate sense of good, and thought that enough people would abject. While others believed it still effective based on the idea that fear is something easily spread and once enough people were effected by it, even if some opposed it, the others would be still to frightened to join in.
Finally in a world wide scheme the entire group thought it unlikely, however some thought that there was a possibility (based on above points about fear) and other members thought it not possible (again, based on above points.)

Do you think Winston will find the brotherhood?

We discussed this as a very likely possibility because that would be the plot line for most other dystopian novels (eg like the Hunger Games or Divergent). But we also entertained the thought that this novel may not have a happy ending and therefore Winston would maybe not find the Brotherhood.

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Part 2 Chapter 1-7

What do you think about the relationship between Winston and Julia? Is it true love or purely lust?

Our group discussed that Winston seems smitten, but not always with Julia, more of the fact that they are breaking the rules, and that he can satisfy his ‘cravings’ . They are more in love with the ‘political acts’ they are preforming by having sex. We talked about how Julia doesn’t really care about what Winston thinks or says, we read time after time that she falls asleep or zones out while he talks about his theories when it comes to the government and the past. Almost every time they get together, they have a love affair, and not much exchange of words. We saw how this love is very superficial and that they don’t really take the time to care about the lives of others or the opinions. It was noted that even in their first meeting, Winston did not know many of the main information that people usually know of others before they start a relationship. Winston also mentions that he adores the idea that Julia has been having affairs since she was 16 and has been with plenty of men.

What do you think caused happened to Syme? Why was it a need for the party to eliminate him?

The group discussed that Syme knew too much. Even if he agreed and supported all the things that the Party was doing, there is plenty of potential of something to go wrong. If he ever decided to turn his opinions, then he would know plenty to see the flaws in the government. He would be able to pin point the lies, and would corrupt the tightly woven lies that have been told. We talked that because he became an unperson, he was not just sent away, but killed. Then eliminated from any documented evidence that could prove that he was ever a real person. He was a threat, which is why he was dealt with.

Are there specific or general mental disorders or challenges that the people in his society have to endure with the restrictions that are in their lives? How do these effect the people?

We discussed that people are not able to express themselves through songs, poems, literature, movies, art, architecture or even furniture. Anything that allows your mind to express emotions through anything that can be seen such as facial emotions, art or words has been limited so that one day emotions will be suppressed. It was mentioned that this way of dealing with problems or emotions can cause a person to implode within themselves through frustration and without the ability to express. Everything would be bottled up and one day finally unleash, and someone would be ‘eliminated’ as a result.

We see that the family unit is already corrupt in the advances of this way of living. How might this progress with the next generation?

We read that the children were starting to turn their parents in to the Thought Police if their parents said or showed anything that was against Big Brother. With the next generations being purely brainwashed from the schools and starting while children are so impressionable, the parents would be very honorable to the government. We thought that they would only have children as a duty to the government and NEVER for love. That thinking progressed to how with all the talk of abstinence we believed that the next generation would have a minimum requirement of the amount a children a fertile person needs to have in order to carry on the population of Oceania.

In the novel, Julia says ‘If you kept the small rules, you could break the big ones’. Do you agree with this statement and do you think that it holds true to our lives today?

As students we talked about that if you are usually on top of your game and always on the ball, then people are more lenient of the things you do. You are often given mercy if you are usually faithful and trustworthy. But in the sense of keeping the small rules and breaking the big ones we related this to siblings. It always seems that there is that one sibling that seems so cute and perfect on the outside, but then behind closed doors, they are evil and try to destroy you. They keep the little rules and get away with bigger ones. We decided that this is very true to our lives now, just phrased differently. We remember the saying ‘they can get away with murder’ and we felt that this is very prominent in our society especially with respected people with high status, naive children and the honored seniors.

-Beth Larmand

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Section 4: Chapter 8- Part 3
Julia Loewen

How do you think O'Brien got into a position in the Inner Party where he can turn off the telescreen, when he is so involved in the rebellion?

It seems very strange that O'Brien has not been caught by the thought police yet, especially making it to the point where he has the power to turn off the telescreen. The Party must trust him very much, and he must be a very good actor or maybe there are more people from the Brotherhood inside the Party. Maybe Big Brother does know that O'Brien is part of the Brotherhood and keeps him close to find information.

When O'Brien is explaining what Winston and Julia have to do for the Brotherhood, why do you think he only speaks to Winston and not Julia?

Julia is very young and unreliable, where as Winston is much older and more mature. O'Brien probably realized that Winston would more fully understand and care about what the Brotherhood is doing while Julia is just along for the ride, only caring about herself. We can see the generation gap between Winston and Julia in the way that Julia does not care much for the world to change, she only cares about her own pleasure, whereas Winston can see the bigger picture. Another factor could be that when the book was written women were not treated as equal to men, so it would be natural for the man to be addressed and not the woman.

Why do you think Charrington waited so long to arrest Winston and Julia?

He could have caught Winston right from the beginning of the novel when he buys the diary, but he chooses to wait until much later than that, maybe to see if Winston and Julia have any information about the Brotherhood, or to find more proof of thoughtcrime. It is also possible that he wanted to find out more about them, in order to find the easiest way to mentally break them later on.  

Where do you think Goldstein is and do you think we will meet his character later in the book?

He could be hiding in Eastasia or Eurasia, or even in hiding in Oceania. He may not even exist and was created by the Party to give the people someone to hate. We will probably not meet him, either because he is just a side character and it does not seem like their paths will cross, or because he does not exist.