1984 Journal #2: Wake Up Call (Topic C)

When Winston is trying to explain to Julia about how the past is being abolished, he says, "Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street and building has been renamed, every date has been altered" (Orwell 128). This shows the author's powerful vision of how the leaders of the future will allow the past to be completely altered. In the story, the author makes it quite believable because he explains how the Party wants the past knowledge to be dissolved so they can convince the citizens that they are right and the only evidence for the past is the memories that the citizens possess.

The author want us to realize that the only choice we have in preventing the leaders from erasing our past is completely understanding and taking interest in what is happening in the world around us. When Winston explains, "In a way, the world-view of the Party imposed itself most successfully on the people incapable of understanding it" (Orwell 129), he makes it clear that if people become knowledgeable of the events arising, it is more likely that they will be able to prevent things from getting out of hand. Orwell makes this clear to show how dangerous being uninformed can be. This clearly connects to the party's slogan of WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH because by having ignorant citizens, the party can rise up and gain an immense amount of power.