Socratic Seminar Brainstorming Sheet: 1984

Use this graphic organizer to brainstorm answers to the guiding questions as preparation for our
Socratic Seminar. Be sure to identify specific textual evidence to support your ideas. Include page
numbers in your notes. Use a separate sheet of paper if you need more space.

Guiding Questions Notes Textual Evidence

What is the relationship

between language and
truth? How is language
sometimes used
deceptively? What are
the qualities of effective
communication?

Do individuals have the

power to change the
society in which they
live? By what means is
it just to do so?

To what extent is truth

relative?

Can a society based on

hate survive?

Would you consider

Winston to be a hero?
What heroic qualities
does he display?
 Guiding Questions Notes Textual Evidence

Is ignorance the same

thing as weakness?

What is the effect of

having the story broken
into three, distinct
parts?

The three party slogans

are “War is Peace”,
“Freedom is Slavery”
and “Ignorance is
Strength”. In what ways
are these statements
logical, in the text as
well in the real world?

In what sense does

Winston’s time in Room
101 represent the
climax of the novel?
Some critics have
called it anticlimactic.
What do you think?

How does technology

affect the Party’s ability
to control its citizens? In
what ways does the
Party employ
technology throughout
the book?