I follow along with my sibling’s senior English class as they go through iconic high school literature…
A bit late because I wasn’t happy with the first draft :)
Chapter 4..
We get an inside look at Wilson’s work, and we learn the vile underlying mechanisms of the Ministry of Truth…
The “Truth”
The Department of Records tells us that the “truth” can be changed.
Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.
The truth is something that most people find unalterable. After all, how can someone change what you remember or experienced? Right? But I don’t think that's true at all. Memories are extremely malleable. Think back to your childhood. How much of it do you recall, and can you say with perfect confidence that you remember all the details? Have you ever been gaslit into thinking something else? That older sibling who saw things one way and tricked you into accepting it as fact? Big brother telling you what really happened to all that candy during Halloween when you were six.
We can take it one step further and consider the judicial system. Eyewitnesses are sometimes taken with a grain of salt because more often than not, witnesses forget what they’ve seen, make mistakes in their testimony, or outright lie about the facts. Memories can blank out at convenient times, or create scenarios that are optimal for the given situation. As such, who is to say what we remember is truly what happened?
When the government starts taking advantage of these psychological ticks, it becomes a question of understanding what their agenda is. Throughout this pandemic (and these last four years), we have seen things unsaid, unspoken, retracted, corrected, and altogether erased. The reality of this is frightening because it not only makes us question the truth, but also it forces us to think twice about what was said and done. Mistakes happen, yes, but when it becomes erased from memories, or denied, then we start seeing gaps in the truth. This is a dangerous path to go down…
The Memory Hole
As I read about this scene, I’m reminded how easily things can be forgotten by people. I’ve been in scenarios where I remembered, with great clarity, events that passed, but when talking to others who witness the same thing, completely forgotten about those memories. The casual deletion of information and memories in 1984 seem too relatable. I grew up with a heavy emphasis on making sure I had records of things I’ve done, with it be shopping receipts, school notes and achievements, or memento of important events. I’m someone who does hold on to things, at least for a while, in order to savor memories and moments that would otherwise be forgotten. The way the Records Department is set up seems the opposite of its namesake. Rather than sort records, they remove and alter records. They have memory holes to purge any and all information. Down down the deep depths of the Ministry of Truth.
NEWSPEAK
I think a lot of literary analyst, linguists, and conspiracy theorists have fun with the idea of Newspeak. A language created by striping away the fundamentals of the current language. By reducing and removing vocabulary to create an “efficient” and unimaginative language, we can suppress thoughts therefore reduce the chaos that accompanies freethinking. Orwell clearly put a lot of thought into the construction of Newspeak’s rules. The irony is that as a civilization we may already be shortening and restricting the language on our own. Due to the internet, text messaging, and instant communications, we have evolved a set of “Newspeak” of our own that follows the principle of removing extraneous words and grammars from common use. Who remembers what the # was called before the term “hashtag” came into use? Who remembers when LOLs and WTFs weren’t common words in our vocabulary? Every generation creates new words and changes the language, but whether that is a sign that we’re limiting our thoughts or not, is something up to debate.
I believe we may be using more shorthand, but we are in fact changing how we communicate. And for the better.
We are forsaking the long jargon filled language of the past, and instead striving for language that is easier to understand and conveys ideas and feelings more closely to what the writer intends.
Comrade Ogilvy
Chapter 4 continues to build the world of 1984, highlighting the cogs and gears that run the society of INGSOC. It’s fortunate that we see how Winston is part of the system and how his imaginative and intellect is used for the party. Winston’s character Ogilvy is demonstrative of how well he understands the party’s goals and ideals. It sets the stage for Wilson’s eventually betrayal. And perhaps it suggests that one day, his story will also be replaced with a fictional comrade.
This was an interesting chapter that gives us even more information about the innerworkings of the world of 1984.
Read along with me and my siblings as we go deeper and deeper into the literary analysis of 1984 and follow my commentary on the relevance of the novel in today’s almost dystopian society. If you’re a sucker for physical copies like me, click the affiliate link below to help support these post.
