Epistemology

First published Wed Dec 14, 2005

Defined narrowly, epistemology is the study of knowledge and justified belief. As the study of knowledge, epistemology is concerned with the following questions: What are the necessary and sufficient conditions of knowledge? What are its sources? What is its structure, and what are its limits? As the study of justified belief, epistemology aims to answer questions such as: How we are to understand the concept of justification? What makes justified beliefs justified? Is justification internal or external to one's own mind? 

What reasons does O'Brien give for why past dictatorships did not hold onto power?

What does O'Brien identify as the goal of the Party?

Double-column journal: 

Winston vs. O'Brien

What arguments does Winston make against the Party's ability to hold power indefinitely?  

What are O'Brien's counter-arguments?

Given your knowledge of history and human nature, what do you see as the greatest strengths and weaknesses of either O'Brien or Winston's arguments?  What is each of their arguments, and who do you think has the stronger argument?

Homework: Read to 287.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

            George Orwell uses various rhetorical elements such as imagery, mood, setting and atmosphere to contrast the lightheartedness and beauty of love with the depressing and dark life that is lived in Oceania.

Orwell conveys the setting in the beginning of the passage as sort of a safe haven for Winston. When Orwell writes, “The air seemed to kiss one’s skin…From somewhere deeper in the wood came the droning of ring doves” he uses imagery and setting to portray, for an instant, Winston’s world at peace. That one could almost breath and love freely. Quickly, Orwell disrupts this fantasy Winston is living and introduces the threats, consequences and possible ways that he could be caught. Orwell introduces the disrupting reality of Winston’s life when he writes, “ There were no telescreens, of course, but there was always a danger of concealed microphones by which your voice could be picked up and recognized”.  This abrupt transition from the beauty of love to the paranoid thoughts of Winston clearly shows how Orwell uses imagery and setting to contrast these two ideals.

An important part of Orwell’s writing is that he continues to contrast hope and fear throughout the passage. He constantly transitions from happy and hopeful imagery to dark and dreary imagery, emphasizing even more so the plight of his society as part of the Party. Orwell shows this in a matter of a few sentences with imagery that appeals to the senses when he says, “He knelt down and began picking some bluebells…and was smelling their faint sickly scent when a sound at his back froze him, the unmistakable crackle of a foot on twigs”.  Here, Orwell portrays Winston’s sweet act of fondness toward Julia and ruins that image with the fright and possibility that he was being followed by someone who wanted to turn him in. Every good and happy thought that runs through Winston’s head, it is accompanied by his sense of dark and dangerous reality. Orwell stresses this by drastically changing the mood and overall atmosphere from positive to negative using his highly descriptive imagery and arrangement of details. 

Orwell also contrasts love and dark reality by misleading the reader in a way where one thinks that what he is describing is going to be positive but it actually incorporates and emphasizes the risk and fear of Winston. For example, “He looked up. It was the girl. She shook her head, evidently as warning that he must keep silent…the sweetness of the air and the greenness of the leaves daunted him… the May sunshine made him feel dirty and etiolated”.  Orwell has Winston looking up with a sense of hope and relief because it was the girl but, he is again reminded that he and Julia are still not safe. Winston’s hopefulness and love are once again disrupted. Orwell made it seem as if it was going to be a sweet hello but incorporated Winston’s fear instead. Orwell also portrays things in nature that would normally make one happy but to Winston, it made him feel gross and almost violated. Orwell, once again, comes around to contrasting these two ideals with his sentence placement, imagery, setting and mood throughout the passage.