1984 Blog #3

In the second half of Book 1, we learn quite a bit about the methods of control used by the government. The most effective are language (which you have already discussed) and changing the past. Discuss the concept of “controlling the past,” both as a concept and the specific methods the Party uses. Why is this method so devastatingly effective?

When taking a look at the two methods of control, changing the past plays a very large role in the aspect control. In today's society, it would be very difficult convince everyone that... let's say... WWII didn't happen. Too many people would know that it did occur. But, in the society of 1984, the Party creates something called the Ministry of Truth, which its soul purpose is to rewrite the past to whatever the Party wants it to be so that whatever they say is fact. And, a lot of the time, the Party changes its mind. So, the Ministry of Truth is quite busy. But, they basically rewrite the history, proclaim the new 'truth' either in writing or through the telescreen, and destroy an evidence or documents of what could have been the past... that includes all books. So, in 1984, books don't exist anymore. That's how the Ministry of Truth can get away with changing/controlling the past so well. They can get away with saying that they (the Party) invented air planes and they've (Oceania) always have been fighting with Eastasia and allied with Eurasia even though they clearly didn't invent the airplane and were arch enemies with Eurasia not that long ago. But, controlling the past is what the party does in order to keep their way of life going.

1984 Blog #2

To begin, think about why Winston is writing in his diary and why this is a crime. In what way is writing things down a threat to the Party? Why is Winston drawn to this activity? Now consider Syme’s job of destroying words. Discuss the control of language as a method of controlling individuality.

At first, we really don't know Winston all that much at the beginning of the book. But, for some reason, he decides to buy a diary for himself. The reason why Winston buys a diary is because he has a lot of things he's thinking about and it might help by writing them out. By writing in a diary, it's considered a crime to the Party. In fact, just buying a diary is considered a crime. This is because a diary leads the consumer to write individual, original thoughts, which doesn't work with the Party. The Party wants to the past so that they can control the future. And, the way they control the past is to rewrite history. But, if there are people writing things in the privacy of their homes, then it causes problems for the party to take complete control of history because other people could see the stuff written in the diary and it can show that the party is lying, which could cause disloyalty and rebellion. Now, the deal with Syme is that he wants to get rid of as many words as possible (Newspeak). His goal to get rid of as much words as possible so it would be almost impossible for people to think of a "thoughtcrime". And, this can be achieved by the lack of vocabulary. And, with less words... comes less individuality. If there are less words to express themselves, then it draws away the aspect of individuality. They wouldn't know how to say how they truly feel. So, with less words... comes and more common people.

1984 Blog #1

The first three chapters of 1984 invite us into the world of Airstrip One (formerly England) in the fictitious year of 1984. Read these chapters carefully and describe this world as completely as you can. In your answer, you should consider the following: What is the government like? What are people’s lives like? How did things get this way? Do you note any characteristics of a dystopian society? What are they?

In 1984, author, George Orwell, wrote a novel describing our society if the events that were taking place during WWII continued. He envisioned a dystopian world that instead of hundreds of countries, was split into three separate "continents" called: Oceania, Eurasia, Eastasia. And, the world is run by the "Party". The novel's main character, Winston Smith, lives in what we know as London, England. But, in this society it's called London, Airstrip one, Oceania. Very strange, but that's how things are now. But, unlike Brave New World, the people in this society have very unpleasant lives because they constantly live in state of fear and misery. That's how they can keep the society the way it is. They don't stand for any disloyality. In fact, if you even think about committing a crime against the Party, (thoughtcrime) you could be arrested and executed for it. So, this society is very dystopian. Like their slogan says, "Big Brother is watching you..." And, on top of that, this society promotes hatred to one another and always makes them think that they are in a state of war. Apparently, that state of being unities large groups of people together, but only to hate a common enemy, not to be close like a community. So, it's a very interesting situation we've been presented in Orwell's novel of 1984.