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Essay / A review of George Orwell's book, 1984
George Orwell's novel, 1984, warns of a totalitarian state in the future. The totalitarian state of Oceania, under the control of the Party and its leader Big Brother, represents a society in which the government is always right and the people have no freedom of speech or thought. At one point in the story, Winston says that "everything old, and for that matter everything beautiful, was always vaguely suspect." The Party views "everything old" and "everything beautiful" as dangerous because they symbolize the past and individuality – things the Party seeks to control and abolish in order to remain in power. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The Party suspects everything old and considers them dangerous because they are relics of the past and a symbol of the past. These items can give someone thoughts about life before the Party took control of them. Winston begins to rebel against the Party after buying an old newspaper and writing in it. He questions the Party's claims about the past, asking "were things better than they are today?" ". Ancient artifacts are also evidence that can be used to refute the Party's claims about the past. For this reason, the Party seeks to destroy or rewrite the entire past so that there is no evidence of the past other than what the Party claims it to be. Winston's work in the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth, falsifying and correcting previous documents to make them "what the Party wanted", is an example of the Party's efforts to rewrite the past. After the past was erased and falsified, "the erasure was forgotten and the lie became the truth" and the only thing left was proof of the Party's claims and no evidence against them. The Party views "anything old" as dangerous because they are remnants of the past that can be used to disprove their claims and incite rebellion. But instead of letting the past be used against it, the Party seeks to rewrite the past and use it to support it. As with old things, the Party would also suspect "everything that is beautiful" and consider it dangerous because it symbolizes beauty. individuality, which the Party is trying to abolish. Beautiful objects stand out and are not ordinary and boring. In contrast to this are the Party members, whom Winston considers "ugly, and who would still have been ugly even if they were dressed in anything other than the blue overalls of the uniform." The Party tries to abolish people's individuality so that they have no original thoughts and therefore only have the Party's thoughts. Individuality and original thoughts pose a danger to the Party because they are the source of rebellious thoughts. The Party executes people who are “too intelligent” and without “discretion, distance, a kind of saving stupidity” because they have individuality, original thoughts and are able to express themselves. Unlike Party members, beautiful objects are different and unique, which symbolizes individualism, a threat to the Party because it is a source of rebellious thoughts. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.Get a custom essayIn George Orwell's totalitarian society of 1984, the ruling party manipulates and falsifies the past so that it is always right and abolishes individualism so that the people do not 'only have the thoughts of the party. The protagonist Winston says that "all that is.