The Mutability Of The Past In 1984

710 Words2 Pages

A theme that often recurs in the book ‘1984’ by George Orwell is the mutability of the past, how you can change and mold the past until it is how you want it. This mainly shows up in the system of Big Brother with their ever-changing news, and the constant gaps and confusing memories. This theme, you will find triggers most storylines in the book, it eventually causes Winston’s rebellion against Big Brother. We see regularly in 1984 how the past is vague and manipulated. Winston frequently picks up on these mistakes and errors in previous events. An example of this happening takes place in the Chestnut Tree Café when the Telescreen announces and celebrates that the chocolate rations have been raised to 20. When in reality it had previously …show more content…

This is when he first considers the possibility that he may be insane. The idea of Winston’s memory being twisted and fake can distress him. We see this when Winston dreams of his family and their death (p-31+32). Winston’s memory of his parents’ death is unclear. We see him upset and feeling a sense of guilt with the distant memories he has. Winstons experiences with the past leads to him seeking out the truth and standing up against Big Brother. This fascination to past events may of led to Winston entering the antique store and purchasing the journal. Which was a major plot point in the book as it expanded into Winston’s rebellion to Big Brother through Thought Crime, and carried on to Winstons eventual capture inside the antique store …show more content…

They are able to use these changes to the past to maintain their power over Oceania. For example, when Big Brother lied about the chocolate rations, it allowed their citizens to view them as they are making positive changes. This puts them in a good light to the people, so they maintain power. The changes to the children’s textbook make it seem as though society has only improved since Big Brother has taken over. Changing the education system is effective as it is raising children into these beliefs instead of changing pre-existing beliefs, so using the textbook to manipulate is a quick technique. Big Brother can also change the past through other mediums like through entertainment, Winston speaks about how theaters only show war movies (p-10). There are many small changes Big Brother can make to everyday life in order to subtly change people's perceptions in their favour. These changes allow Big Brothers violent and unfair actions to pass by seamlessly. As to not cause any uprisings or any loss of power to them. This format of manipulation and memory is not as difficult as it would be

Show More
Related

  • 1984 Dialectical Journal Essay

    1795 Words  | 4 Pages

    Returning to his diary, Winston then expresses his emotions against the Party, the Thought Police and Big Brother himself; he questions the unnecessary acts by the Party and continuously asserts rebellion. Winston soon realized he had committed the crime of having an individual thought, “thoughtcrime.” The chapter ends with a knock on Winston’s door. Significant Quotes “From where Winston stood it was just possible to read, picked out on its white face in elegant lettering, the three slogans of the Party: WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH” (Orwell 7). “But there was a fraction of a second when their eyes met, and for as long as it took to happen Winston knew— yes, he knew!

    Read More

  • Examples Of Universal Deceit In 1984 By George Orwell

    1207 Words  | 3 Pages

    He purchased a small journal from a shop and began to write in it out of view of the telescreen in his house, which allows anything in front of it to potentially be seen or heard. At first he had some difficulties as he could only manage to write jumbles of some of his memories, but then he began to write things like “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER (Orwell, page 18).” He later had an encounter with one of his fellow coworkers, O’Brien, which got him thinking that there might be others out in the world who see things the way he does, including O’Brien himself. Winston eventually decides that his diary will become a sort of letter to O’Brien, and to a future or past where things might have been different. In these diary entries he wrote things such as, “To the future or to the past, to a time when thought is free, when men are different from one another and do not live alone—to a time when truth exists and what is done cannot be undone…(Orwell, page 28).” This refers to how citizens think and act the same and previous events are not written as they happened, but altered to Big Brother’s benefit. He also wrote, “Thoughtcrime does not entail death: thoughtcrime IS death (Orwell, page 28).” This can be further explained by Winston’s previous thought, “The consequences of every act are included in the act itself (Orwell, page 28).” Winston

    Read More

  • Metaphysics In George Orwell's 1984

    1008 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novel 1984 is one that has sparked much controversy over the last several decades. It harbors many key ideas that lie at the root of all skepticism towards the book. With the ideas of metaphysics, change, and control in mind, George Orwell wrote 1984 to provide an interesting story but also to express his ideas of where he believed the world was heading. His ideas were considered widely ahead of their time, and he was really able to drive home how bleak and colorless our society really is. Orwell wrote this piece as a futuristic, dystopian book which contained underlying tones of despair and deceit.

    Read More

  • 1984 Conflict Essay

    933 Words  | 2 Pages

    Today I am going to be writing an essay on the book, 1984 by George Orwell. This book is about Winston Smith and Big Brother where an external conflict arises between the two. The internal conflict that also takes place in this book was between the two ideas, democracy and totalitarianism. The reason this novel was written was to show society what it could and or would become if things continued to go down the worse of the paths: Orwell sensed of the expansion of the great communism when he was thinking of this novel. The conflict that took place between these two ideas in the year 1945 created the two characters, which were the two characters above Winston Smith and the Big Brother, in his mind. The Big Brother is head of the totalitarian

    Read More

  • Maneuvering Human Relationships

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    Changing history has profound effects on humans and the choices that they make, in 1984 by George Orwell Big Brother has the ability to manipulate the past, present, and future because he is the supreme leader of Oceania. The supreme leader of Oceania is Big Brother, none of the citizens in the country know if Big Brother is a group or a single individual. Big Brother stepped into power after the rebellion and has maintained absolute power over his citizens. In order to gain absolute power, Big Brother had to destroy human relationships. Relationships are a problem for Big Brother because they allow citizens to form bonds with one and other. Big Brother has ruined humanity and the relationships that they have in order to gain absolute power. By controlling the essential parts of relationships, physical contact, sex, and breaking the bond between parents and children, Big Brother successfully turns society into individuals in order to gain absolute power which will ensure that he will never lose power.

    Read More

  • Internal and External Conflict in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)

    907 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book, 1984 by George Orwell, is about the external conflict between Winston Smith and Big Brother; and the internal conflict between the two ideas, democracy and totalitarianism. Orwell wrote the novel to show society what it could become if things kept getting worse: he sensed of the expansion of communism when he wrote the novel. The conflict between democracy and totalitarianism at the year of 1945 created two characters, Winston Smith and Big Brother, in orwell's mind. Big Brother is the embodiment of all the ideals of the totalitarian party. In contrast to Big Brother, Winston Smith keeps the idea of democracy emphasizes freedom, he has to hide his own thought because the Big Brother's party will punish him by death if the party finds it out. George orwell criticizes of Big Brother's society by describing it as a dark and a gloomy place. It warns that people might believe that everyone must become slaves to the government in order to have an orderly society, but at the expense of the freedom of the people.

    Read More

  • Manipulation In 1984

    898 Words  | 2 Pages

    O’Brien and the Inner Party in 1984 have control over the entire populace. They wield an incredible amount of power over the population. Therefore, with each manipulation, they have the ability to influence thousands, if not millions. This ability to command the public and its opinion places them at the top of the food chain with the ability to dominate all below. Furthermore, they are insensitive to the desires and necessities of all below them, yet the Inner Party knows that those below them rely on them for instruction, governance, and basic necessity. Thus, Big Brother and his Inner Party are in the perfect position to shamelessly

    Read More

  • Examples Of Manipulation In 1984 By George Orwell

    1190 Words  | 3 Pages

    The closest thing to this 1984 world that we have in our world is North Korea. That is the type of power that “Big Brother” had in this book and as you can see, psychological manipulation is a very powerful and scary tool to use. In some of the early scenes of the book, you get a taste of how the government plays a role in the society of 1984. Winston the protagonist of the story, is walking up to his room and there is a poster on the wall.

    Read More

  • Who Controls The Past In George Orwell's 1984

    965 Words  | 2 Pages

    To allow Big Brother’s words to remain false, the Party allows itself to have a flaw in an otherwise flawless government. For Big Brother to be wrong means that the Party is wrong and the people can use that against them. For the sake of power, the Party requires a complete rewrite of history to ensure nothing

    Read More

  • Free Essay on George Orwell's 1984

    666 Words  | 2 Pages

    Winston works for 1 of the 4 government agency’s, The Ministry of Truth. In his job he re-writes old news articles so they show that The Party has always been and will be in control. By re-writing everything in print, The Party effectively changes history. The only proof of actual history is in the minds of the people who were there. Winston realizes that there is something wrong with this, yet he doesn’t know what. The re-writing of history is all he has ever known. It is most likely Winston’s job that leads him to rebel against The Party.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Doublethink In 1984

    1423 Words  | 3 Pages

    If they are capable of knowing both the facts about themselves then they are successful. This is where they must have truth-committed and non truth-committed attitude towards the statements. This is the mental way of thinking that Winston is required to master. Another example of doublethink in 1984 is war. The Inner Party knows that the war is spurious.

    Read More

  • Winston's Motivation In 1984

    990 Words  | 2 Pages

    His primary one being his curiosity; as the Party essentially holds the control of the public’s knowledge, Winston repeatedly expresses his confusion and desire to know more. Which can be seen with him questioning how we truly “know that two and two make four” (7,80) and pondering “if the mind itself is controllable…what then?”(7,80). As can be seen Winston is confused by his own knowledge, especially living in a society where freethought is considered a crime. Therefore the thirst for knowledge or more so for the freedom of it is his primary motivation. His secondary motivation is his desire to reconnect with the past. Throughout the novel, it becomes clear that Winston had a desire to reconnect with the past. Winston takes a risky measure by going into a prole pub to ask an elderly man who can “remember what it was like in the old days, before the Revolution”(8,89) for his memories. Through taking a risky action, Winston demonstrates his desperation for the past, part of this is likely rooted for his thirst for knowledge as well. Winston also has an affinity for old objects such as the paper weight or the diary he bought; which is his biggest crime of all. Lastly his third motivation was the want for individualism. Although this is not something Winston continually expresses his desires about; it is visible with his actions. For example the purchase of the diary; a place to document his inner thoughts.

    Read More

  • 1984 Paradox In 1984

    1107 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1984 by George Orwell, the world is described as a desolate, bleak result of humanity where the land is governed by a totalitarian regime who rules the hindering the societal progress. The face of Oceania is Big Brother, an omniscient figure who is widely worshiped by its people. The Inner Party enforces a new language known as Newspeak that prevents anyone from committing political rebellion. The control that this Party has over the entire population unveils the theme of the novel, that intimidation by a higher up can lead to psychological manipulation. There are several paradoxes within the text that reveal this theme to be true due to the party’s way with words. A paradox is something that contradicts reason or expectation and Orwell

    Read More

  • Betrayal In George Orwell's 1984

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    Authors often use their works as a way to express their own opinions and ideologies. However, it is the skill of the author that determines whether these ideas are combined with the plot seamlessly, making a creative transition of ideas from the author’s mind, to the reader’s. There is no doubt that George Orwell is a masterful writer, and one of his most popular works, 1984, clearly expresses his negative views of the Totalitarian government. A common theme in the dystopian society in 1984 is betrayal: The Party is very intolerant towards any form of disloyalty, and anyone who plots against them or Big Brother will eventually either betray their own mind and accept Big Brother as their leader, or be betrayed and revealed to The Party by one of their so-called comrades. Overall, Orwell is using this constant theme of betrayal to show how alone and alienated the protagonist (Winston Smith) is in his quest against Totalitarianism, thus showing how flawed and hopeless the political system is.

    Read More

  • Essay On Lack Of Privacy In 1984

    1567 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ultimately, common ideas found in the novel 1984, totalitarianism, surveillance, and lack of privacy are also ubiquitous in modern society and government. Big Brother and modern day government have been able to control its citizens through surveillance equipment, and fear all for a little more power. There is much to learn from such an undesirable form of society much like the one of Oceania in 1984. Examining Big Brother government closely, alarming connections can be made to real-world government actions in the United States and the cruel world within Orwell's book.

    Read More

More about The Mutability Of The Past In 1984

Open Document