George Orwell :: essays papers

George Orwell George Orwell^s vision of the world in the year 1984 is horrific and chilling. Written in 1949, this piece of literature is an everlasting classic that reminds us that history is a vital part of human existence, although we often forget it. The past, present, and future are as changeable as human opinions and beliefs. In this book, Orwell highlighted on some of the fears that many people have for the world that we are creating. The control of the Party that he speaks of is like that of the Nazis of World War II. The only difference between the Nazis and Orwell^s imagined Party, is the emotion. The Nazis fell from power because of the emotions of its leader, Adolph Hitler. The Party held up because their leader, Big Brother, was merely an image and had no emotion at all. Within my reading, I encountered many interesting points, both scenes and lines, that I remember vividly. All of these points reflect the type of power that we humans have to control our existence as we know it. From the points that I concentrated on came my own thoughts and fears about what future the human race was able to create. The point that I remember most vividly is the motto of the Party. The motto is: ^Those who control the past, control the future; Those who control the future, control the present; Those who control the present, control the past.^ This slogan played a main part in the plot. George Orwell incorporated this theme into the story to show the kind of power that the Party actually had. The Party did control the present, so they were able to do with it what they wished. The members of the Party rewrote history at every current change, whether the changes be as simple as a human dying or a change of enemy in the ongoing war. The Party had every piece of literature rewritten and every photo reproduced to fit their fictional stories of war success and economic advance. By having this power, to control the past, they controlled the future. With the power to control the future of the human race, the Party manipulated the human body and its functions. It also controlled the hum! an mind through physical experiments and the enforcement of complete orthodoxy to fit their needs. This absolute power is everlasting and definite. This idea of total power made the line memorable.