1984 Comparative Essay
Since the beginning of humanity, there have always been the rulers, and the ruled. The rulers have always been the government, and the ruled has always been the people. One would believe that the government would be truthful and be interested in their people's well being, but clearly, this is not the case. In fact, lies are often more common than the truth. Facts are changed based on the governing party's current needs. The government wants to control their people, to have an unquestioning, thoughtless population that make them more powerful, as this is their main priority. As a generalisation, the government is more interested in their well-being than that of the people who drive it. It has been said that you cannot rewrite history, as it has already happened, and it cannot be changed. While history itself cannot be changed, the records of it can, and are. Governments often change certain facts that conflict with their current ideology, to make things more convenient for themselves. If a previous statement does not conform with the what the governing party currently is saying, it would be changed, the record of it happening obliterated. This is a common occurrence in 1984, and Winston is one of the culprits. In chapter four he explains the process:
"As soon as all the corrections which happened to be necessary in any particular number of The Times had been assembled and collated, that number would be reprinted, the original copy destroyed, and the corrected copy placed on the files in its stead. This process of continued alteration was applied ... to every kind of literature or documentation.... In this way every prediction made by the party could be shown by documentary evidence to have been correct; nor was any item of news, or any expression of opinion, which conflicted with the needs of the moment, ever allowed to remain on record. ... In no case would it have been possible, once the deed was done, to prove that any falsification had taken place."(Orwell
"As soon as all the corrections which happened to be necessary in any particular number of The Times had been assembled and collated, that number would be reprinted, the original copy destroyed, and the corrected copy placed on the files in its stead. This process of continued alteration was applied ... to every kind of literature or documentation.... In this way every prediction made by the party could be shown by documentary evidence to have been correct; nor was any item of news, or any expression of opinion, which conflicted with the needs of the moment, ever allowed to remain on record. ... In no case would it have been possible, once the deed was done, to prove that any falsification had taken place."(Orwell
Bibliography: Orwell, George. 1984. New York, NY: Published by Signet Classic, 1977. Print. ""The Press Corpse" Lyrics." ANTI-FLAG LYRICS. Web. 07 Mar. 2013.