Previous
Paradox
Definition of Pathos
Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Pathos is an argument that appeals to... read full definition
Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Pathos is... read full definition
Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective... read full definition
Book 2, Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—O'Brien's Speeches:
In the eighth chapter of the second book, Winston and Julia visit O'Brien in order to acknowledge their opposition to the Party. Feigning allegiance with them, O'Brien delivers a series of gripping speeches about the Brotherhood. Employing pathos, he cements Winston's faith in him and the causes of unorthodoxy and resistance. O'Brien's speeches are later tinged with a layer of irony: while he seems to wholeheartedly believe what he says about the Party and Brotherhood, he ultimately does not stand for any of the words coming out of his mouth.
Appealing to Winston's emotions, O'Brien's words about the Brotherhood offer a moving picture of the self-sacrificing function of resistance in a world where freedom is limited.
The Brotherhood cannot be wiped out because it is not an organization in the ordinary sense. Nothing holds it together except an idea which is indestructible. You will never have anything to sustain you except the idea. You will get no comradeship and no encouragement. When finally you are caught, you will get no help.
The reader knows that Winston is already devoted to this "indestructible" idea and that he has realized that resistance will necessarily be solitary. Nevertheless, he finds this more appealing than the loneliness of opposing a system without a higher purpose. He would rather be alone with the knowledge that he secretly belongs to a larger movement than be utterly alone. O'Brien can sense this and crafts his speech about the Brotherhood along such lines.
O'Brien continues his pathos-infused speech, appealing to another ideal of Winston's: that he can contribute to a future that actually respects the past:
There is no possibility that any perceptible change will happen within our own lifetime. We are the dead. Our only true life is in the future. We shall take part in it as handfuls of dust and splinters of bone. But how far away that future may be, there is no knowing. It might be a thousand years. At present nothing is possible except to extend the area of sanity little by little. We cannot act collectively. We can only spread our knowledge outwards from individual to individual, generation after generation.
Throughout 1984, Winston returns repeatedly to his desire to live in a world that respects the past. One of his biggest problems with the Party is its constant tweaking of history for political aims. When O'Brien asserts that Winston's efforts in the Brotherhood will contribute to bridging the past and future, he is detecting and exploiting his audience's emotions. Winston's faith in O'Brien swells over the course of this chapter. "A wave of admiration, almost of worship" flows from Winston toward O'Brien as the latter speaks, which attests to O'Brien's success in appealing to Winston's specific emotions.
Later in the novel, when O'Brien's true identity and affiliations are revealed, the reader recalls this chapter as ironic. O'Brien speaks with great conviction about a cause that is directly in opposition with his own. This becomes rather eerie. While he is capable of recognizing the issues with the current system and the appeals of the Brotherhood, he nevertheless wishes to uphold the world that the Party stands for. He is not brainwashed in the way that other characters seem to be—and evidently has the power to think critically—but still prefers totalitarian brutality to equality and freedom. This makes O'Brien especially frightening to Winston.
Related Themes:
