Who Controls The Past In George Orwell's 1984

“1984” by George Orwell is one of the best books ever written, not only in the twentieth century, but perhaps in the whole history of mankind. Orwell writes about a society where a totalitarian government controls the whole world. One of the main themes Orwell discusses in his novel is history itself. But first, what is history? In this case, we could describe history as the collective memory of a society. And history is important because it helps us know who we are and where we came from; history also helps us to compare between the present and the past, to change our future. Orwell describes how the Party in his book uses the memory, and thus, the history, of the society as a form of control through manipulation and forgery. Throughout, he demonstrates one thing: without our memory, without our history, we are nothing.

“‘Who controls the past,’ ran the party slogan, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past ’” (Orwell 34).George Orwell is the author of 1984, a novel about a negative utopia that increasingly comes closer to modern society. Winston’s society is under the control of the Party, and they are under watch 24/7 to keep the population in line. The most useful method to keep the population in line is by rewriting actual events. The party can glorify its own past because they control history.

The novel 1984 is a political story with the purpose to warn the readers about the dangers of a totalitarian government. It really shows everyone that if there is a bad appearance, it will lead us to poor language. Then, when inadequate language comes, we think faulty thoughts. In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, there is no expression of freedom. The government in 1984 has control over people by controlling the information. People have no access or memory of history from the past, which allows the Party to control their understanding about the past which would influence their thoughts in the present and the future.

In a world where you get prosecuted for thinking something the government does not approve of, life can be scary. In the novel 1984, the citizens of Oceania live their lives oblivious to the world around them. From being under continuous surveillance by telescreens to the prohibition of speaking to the opposite gender, this novel serves as a warning to the people of the modern era. It gives an idea of what would happen to our future if people didn’t break free of societal norms. Orwell gives us a warning against a bleak, unfree future, a brainwashing government, and constant war.

George Orwell’s “1984” is a book that represents all oppressions that can be done against people through the force of government. The main character, Winston Smith, a rebellious man who seeks to overthrow the government, undergoes many stages to finally realize that the Inner Party, which is the central government in this dystopian society, is more powerful than anyone could ever imagine. As it is depicted throughout the story, the Party plays psychological tricks on Winston and eventually leads him to be a full believer and supporter of Big Brother, who is a part of the Inner Party’s depiction of control over the citizens of Oceania. Though some may argue that the Party slogan “IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH” decreases Oceania’s stability, in reality,

Government mutilation of the past is a topic that resurfaces frequently throughout 1984. In Oceania, the Party has complete control over printed materials, including all literature and records. The Party continuously alters information to frame the past in such a way that ensures their image remains untainted. With history twisted in their favor, the Party is able to maintain admiration from Party members, and therefore, power and control. The book suggests lacking access to accurate, unadulterated history causes society to be more easily subjugated and susceptible to obstructions of justice. In the book, Party members blindly accept information presented to them by the government because they simply know no better. They have no objective knowledge

The past is constantly changing and history is continuously being interpreted in different ways. This changing of the past is relevant in the modern world, as well as the fictional world in in the novel 1984, written by George Orwell. The government in 1984 has the ability to completely control the past, greatly impacting the daily lives of the people living under this invasive government. The government's ability to change the past causes the control that an individual has over their life to be stripped away, which stops individuals from making lasting impacts in society.

In George Orwell’s 1984, we can observe changed behaviors within Oceania. Jeremy Bentham, Michel Foucault, and Louis Althusser have works related to governmental control on many levels. The government in 1984 uses a manipulation of power and discipline to control the people of their country.

In 1984, George Orwell describes a dystopian future in which the people are completely controlled. Every aspect of life is carefully monitored. While in reality totalitarian regimes have been overthrown, Orwell warns us of an even more grim future. In 1984 the Party has complete control and there is no hope for their demise. Several methods of control are used to keep Oceania's people in line, and therefore, ensuring the continued existence of the Party.

1984 Paper In 1984, George Orwell writes about the effect of a totalitarian state. The citizens of Oceania are controlled in many ways through the use of technology and fear. No person living in Oceania during this time has no private life. The residents fear Big Brother.

In 1984, the Party creates a past that different with it’s origin to fool the citizen mind so that they could compel the citizens to work towards the Party’s goals. The history of historical negationism by Communist government has proven George Orwell’s claims to be true. Mind-controlling is also an art that the Party already

In the 20th century novel, 1984 by George Orwell, Winston Smith is a pariah who dwells under a dystopian society which rules over its own people’s emotions, past, uniqueness, and beliefs. The Party forbids affection for any other party member resulting in the obliteration of family or marriage. Throughout the novel, Winston tussles with the infrequent memories of his childhood repeatedly feeling penitence for his prior actions. Winston contemplates how the past must have been even to the point where he asks an older man. However, the key line of the novel, “Who controls the past,” ran the Party slogan, “controls the future: who controls the present controls the past” (Orwell 34), exemplifies the power that the Party implements in the minds of its people, and demonstrates the

The society in 1984, although fictional, mirrors the political weather of the societies that existed all around George Orwell. Orwell's Oceania is a terrifying society reminiscent of Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union where he witnessed the danger of absolute political authority in an age of advanced technology. A society where there would be complete repression of the human spirit, absolute governmental control of daily life, constant hunger, and the systematic "vaporization" of individuals who do not, or will not, comply with the government's values. Orwell, tried to illustrate that peril harshly in his novel, In an effort to convince readers to avoid any path that might lead towards such social degradation.

In George Orwell’s 1984 we are introduced to a totalitarian society known as Oceania which is ran by the political group known as the Party. The Party is able to control every aspect of person’s life by using “terror, surveillance, and a repressive bureaucracy to exert total power over the individual” (Kellner, 2). They are able to control their jobs, relationships, and even their minds. The Party uses carefully constructed tools in order for them to maintain control over the people. The Party can only maintain control if they are able to control the minds of the people and keep them in a constant state of confusion and paranoia. The Party does this by using surveillance, Newspeak, and manipulating the past.

Throughout the novel, the reader can magnify the obsession Winston has with the past. Although the novel is written in third person, it is seen through Winston’s eyes and Winston wonders repeatedly about the past. The party constantly alters the future where the people can’t decipher the truth or the alterations. “People of my age don’t really know anything about those times. We can only read about them in books, and what it says in the books may not be true”(Orwell 93). Since Winston is not able to halt the alterations of the past, he attempts to find answers of the past before all is vanished. Winston approached the old man in the pub because he wanted to know how life was before the revolution. Due to the old man’s appearance, Winston acknowledges