The Mutability Of The Past In 1984

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

been 30 and had instead been lowered to 20 (p-61). Big Brother expects a thank-you for their hospitality when they had done nothing. This is just one example of Winston taking notice to how the past has been edited. This theme also appears when Winston reads through a textbook from 1984 (p-76). Winston picks up on the bias and unrealistic tones in the ‘educational’ book. The old world is described to be in poverty, full of capitalists and full of ‘fat, ugly men’. This was a very bold example of how Big Brother is controlling their citizens by changing and shaping the past to put themselves in a better view.

Winston picks up the inaccuracies in Big Brothers additions to the previous events often, so he often wonders if anyone else notices these seemingly obvious inaccuracies.

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

(p-231).

Big Brother has reasoning for the troublesome work that is manipulating the past.

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

thought.

The people of Oceania are taught to believe whatever the party says to be true, so this format works as it should. Big Brother is able aswell to convert people to their beliefs when they are on opposing sides originally. When O’Brien is ‘curing’ Winston in the Ministry of Love (p-), he tells Winston that two plus two equals four, which is correct. But he carries on to say that if Big Brother states that two plus two equals five, then five is correct. Winston states that this is incorrect, and two plus two equals four. But through torture, Winston is able to conclude that the answer is in fact five.