1984 Socratic Seminar Topics

Students will be placed in one of two groups and will be given a specific topic for discussion in the Socratic Seminar. A Socratic Seminar is when a group of students (in this case 17) discuss a topic with one another in a respectful manner. Students bring up topics and present questions as others discuss different answers with textual support. It is not a debate, but a dialogue. From now till the Socratic Seminar, you will want to gather quotes, evidence, and examples that will better help you to understand your specific topic. The written requirement for this Socratic Seminar will be to have a notes page with at least three different analysis style questions (one of which can be a synthesis question) and five different quotes. There will be two different broad topics for each seminar. When thinking of questions and quotes, look to the subtopics for ideas and focus:

1)   The Decline of Individualism and the Resilience of the Collective Mind in Orwell’s 1984.

a.       Big Brother’s portrayal in the story.

b.      The Two Minutes of Hate and the crowd’s reactions.

c.       The different characters and what they stand for in the fight against/for Big Brother

d.      Newspeak and its purpose to cut down on individual thought.

e.       The Proles, and whether or not they really do have a sense of individualism.

f.       Parson and his kids vs. the old man in the tavern and their outlook on society.

g.      Thoughtcrime and its depiction in the novel.

h.      The three party slogans and how they hold up in the novel

i.        How “The Party” Differs from other historical totalitarian regimes.

j.        Winston’s “Philosophical Feelings” and his love of Big Brother.

k.      Winston’s final encounter with O'Brien and his argument that, if all else fails, the inherent nature of the individual—the "spirit of man"—is strong enough to undermine a society such as that created by The Party.

2)      Relationships and Character/ Gender Portrayals in Orwell’s 1984.

a.       The differences between male and female portrayals in the novel.

b.      The differences between Winston’s and Julia’s forms of rebellion.

c.       Winston’s (and Orwell’s) view of the opposite sex and whether or not that changes over time.

d.      Winston’s relationship with Julia and whether or not that changes over time.

e.       Big Brother’s take on prostitution, relationships, and sex

f.       Katharine vs. Winston and their take on relationships

g.      The role that O'Brien plays in Winston's life and how his character evolves or devolves during the novel.

h.      Winston’s sense of rebellion and how it evolves/ devolves over the course of the novel.

i.        Winston’s dreams and how they hold significance in the novel and his development as a character.

j.        Winston, Julia, or O’Brien as heroic characters.

k.      Winston’s comments about the Spirit of Man and whether or not he embodies it.