1984 Who Controls The Past Essay

Winston’s world is a fear-filled box run by one group of people, managed by one group of people, and in total control from that same one group of

Big Brother, leader of the Party and the antagonist within this tale, has a constant watch over everyone in Oceania and leaves Winston to feel like a prisoner in his own home. The Party is the ruling force in Oceania, therefore

The final method that Big Brother uses in order to control “reality” is through the changing of history by getting rid of books and history. Winston worked as within the Ministry of Truth, and his job was to burn things in the newspaper that Big Brother does not want to be in the newspaper. By burning the real stories and how the events unfolded, Big Brother is able to construct a completely new story and change the outcome of an event to favor their need. This is an effective method of controlling reality because the public never saw the “real” events or read the actual story, but they are “fed” stories that Big Brother conjure up, which will lead the public to believe that is true. In addition, by getting rid of books, Big Brother is able to control reality because people would not know of the past and history.

Winston on the other hand is older and much more mature, and he wishes to effect change for all. Winston does not want to slap Big Brother but rather wants to see him dead. Due to his old age he has experienced what it was like before Big Brother and wants it to go back to how it used to

He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.” (Orwell 298). The only reason that Winston changed his mind was

In this book they talk about some capabilities of Big Brother. “Winston kept his back to the telescreen … it was over though , as he well knew even a back can be revealing.” They surveillance members of the organization 24/7, so Any little move they made was known. Winston’s job was to change the past. “Who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past”.

Winston was never a devoted follower, constantly questioning the world around him. Even when in custody, Winston continued questioning motives and denouncing the Party and Big Brother, despite the futility. He knew no societal changes would result from his actions, but desperately wanted to share his ideas with someone, and since he was already being tortured, he was capable of speaking freely in the jail area. The purpose was to rid him of his rebellious mindset, and to do so, O’Brien needed to know everything Winston honestly thought in order to ‘correct’ it fully. For example, O’Brien forced Winston to recognize that whatever the Party said was true by holding up four fingers and saying there were five, “But there had been a moment- of luminous certainty, where each new suggestion of O’Brien’s had filled up a patch of emptiness and had become absolute truth, and when two and two could have been three as easily five, if that were what was needed (Orwell 258).

1984, a heinous vision of a past future, shows a terrifying concept of complete control of the human race. It teaches that power is only ever used for power’s sake, and that nothing else matters, except for power. However, to get to that point, the human race must be convinced wholeheartedly and completely that the Party is correct. There must not be a shadow of doubt in their collective mind, and what better way to do that then with logical fallacies? Logical fallacies are errors in reasoning, often used in attempts to strengthen one’s argument, but often have the opposite effect.

In 1984 by George Orwell and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut they show how blind faith in a government leads to the psychological manipulation of the mind to make sure there is absolutely no chance of rebellion. In 1984, the Party and Big Brother are the supreme beings of Oceania and they change the way people think to suit the Party’s needs. The Party has consistently made the citizens feel like they have everything they need and that they are winning all the battles to boost morale. “Returns now completed of the output of all classes of consumption goods show that the standard of living has risen no less than twenty per cent over the past year.” (Orwell 58)

At the beginning of the novel, Winston made it prominent that he dissented Big Brother and his party’s idea. He wrote in his diary, in Book 1 Chapter 1, “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER…” (Orwell 18). This shows that Winston dissented his country’s government and was willing to rebel for he knew deep inside that

(Orwell 3-4). In 1984, telescreens are everywhere, they speak, record, and scan all areas within its reach. These are designed to spy on people, never allowing anyone to ever be alone, lessening the number of people that will rebel against Big Brother. Society is constantly around technology (not much of a choice), people are thought police that will see that you are guilty of committing a thought crime (thinking any bad thought against Big Brother). In this novel, thoughts are not private anymore.

Winston is defiant and rebels against Big Brother and the Party through various illegal actions. After purchasing an empty diary, he continuously wrote “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” when the telescreens were out of view (Orwell 21). This simple thought is considered to be a severe crime where Winston lives because it is direct disapproval towards the Party. Winston feels as if Big Brother is controlling every aspect of his life, so this rebellious action allows for him to vent his frustration.

For example, President Donald Trump coined the term “alternative facts” to news networks reporting negatively on him. Consequently, some people have come to believe doublethink, not knowing the difference between truth and lies just as in 1984. Additionally, the totalitarian society compromises history books and newspapers to fabricate information. "Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past” (18). Big Brother changes history to control the present and future.

During Winston’s interrogation and torture, O’Brien often reminds Winston that the power to end the suffering rests in Winston’s hands. O’Brien explicitly tells Winston “It will not last forever. You can escape from it whenever you choose. Everything depends on yourself” (Orwell 273). Clearly, O’Brien does not wish this suffering upon Winston, showing that O’Brien has apparent compassion and lacks malevolent thoughts towards Winston.

‘Big Brother is infallible and all-powerful.’ (216). Everywhere on the streets there were posters with ‘BIG BROTHER IS