, theof 's
, is employed at the Ministry of Truth. The function of the ministry is to
constantly rewrite all historical documents, including recent newspapers, to make them conform
to party dogma and to prevent citizens from having information that might lead them to distrust
Big Brother or the Party.
One of the reasons that it is necessary to control
the past is that the Party constantly makes promises it cannot keep. For example, the Party
promises specified amounts of rations not just of food but also of luxuries such as chocolate or
tobacco. Its failure to provide these could stir the citizens to resentment. If historical
records were accurate, they could look back and see that the Party is not making accurate
predictions and not keeping its promises. When the party changes the past, if people look up
information, they will not see the Truth but athat the Party had always promised what it
actually delivered. This makes people more likely to doubt their memories than to doubt the
party and serves as a tool of indoctrination.
specifically intended this
practice as a criticism of the Soviet Union's efforts to rewrite history books to indoctrinate
its citizens. Thus the meaning of the quote is that controlling information about the past gives
power in the present, which enables one to determine how things will go in the
future.
No comments:
Post a Comment