Doing the Deed or How to Achieve World Domination
The Party's main administration has four ministries, which I think outline the central pieces of its control.
Goldstein's book pretty much explains that the Ministry of Peace is trying to maintain constant war, and the Ministry of Plenty is trying to deplete resources through that war so the Middle/Low classes will stay complacent. (therefore WAR IS PEACE)
What I am more interested in are the other two pieces of the puzzle: Minitruth and Minilove. We have seen much of how the Ministry of Truth works through Winston and Julia. This is my simple interpretation. Currently, most humans see time as linear (unless you're a quantum physicist or something):
But in 1984, because of the Party's work in the Ministry of Truth, the past half of the line is ruined. Consequently, as the present moves forward, the future will become the past, and therefore also be destroyed. By induction, then, the future also doesn't exist. Therefore, people in 1984 view time like this:
This applies to everyone, not just Party members (which is why Winston is wrong about the proles). The Party has already achieved World Domination forever because of that nice induction step. Julia lives in the present. Yes, she plans for the "future", but only so that when it becomes the present she can enjoy it fully. No problems there, and the Party can let her be.
Why, then, does Winston have ideas about the Brotherhood and eventual overthrow of the Party? Because on Winston's PERSONAL timeline, he has an inkling of some kind of a past, and therefore has hopes for the future (why else would he keep a diary). But Winston's personal timeline does not matter at all in the grand scheme of things, so long as he doesn't give Julia any big ideas.
And that Party is well aware of this. As long as they keep people apart, afraid, in the dark about each other, they can exterminate the errant timeline by simply killing the person. This is the function of the Ministry of Love, which is where Winston is headed. Yay!
What do you think of my interpretations? Do you agree? Is there something else at work? Is "living in the present" a bad thing? How does the Party twist that idea into something sinister?
Really interesting! It is troublesome indeed that for all that Winston found an ally in Julia, she's really not on the same page he is. She even says outright she doesn't give a damn about future generations -- and it feels like the Party could exploit this the way it does with the Proles.
ReplyDeleteThis does help to explain why Julia isn't really a rebel, as much as she is rebellious. She isn't actually trying to escape or destroy the system, rather she is trying to have fun inside of the bounds of the system, albeit stretching them as she can, so that she can enjoy her life. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's the kind of thing the party likely doesn't even really care about, and it does show that as time goes on, it's likely that no generation will think overthrowing the Party is possible.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really well thought-out interpretation, and I definitely agree with what you're saying. (I also really like the visuals, they're fun!). In our current society, "living in the present" is what most people strive to do. However, that is a choice, and often a choice made with the future in mind. The Party twists this into something sinister by eliminating that choice and taking away our modern interpretation of the phrase.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the party is not at all concerned with the past. They just alter the past so that the party is always in the right. And if they weren't aware of what "actually" happened in the past, if only for a brief moment, then they wouldn't be able to change it accordingly. Who controls the paszt now controls the future, who controls the present now controls the past
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ray here, if they didn't care about the past I think they'd just destroy everything, but instead they've replaced it with a fake one. The past justifies the present, but if the present controls the past it can justify itself.
DeleteAh no, I didn't mean the Party as an entity doesn't care about the past -- it explicitly does because it cares about controlling the past as Nico said. What I meant was individual Party members cannot care about remembering the past because then they would be committing thoughtcrime.
DeleteI definitely agree with your interpretations! While "living in the present" is not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, it is disconcerting that people are so brainwashed regarding time, history, etc. that they can only live in the present. The people don't have the freedom to live in the present, and the Party intentionally does this to exterminate and errant timelines, just as you said.
ReplyDeleteI think you're absolutely right. In order for people to foment a rebellion, they have to realize they are being oppressed. Without anything to look forward or compare to, people are pinned in a constant state of limbo - living a passive life.
ReplyDeleteI think that first and foremost, anything in excess is a bad thing, but especially when "living in the present" is actually a systematic wipe out of a society's past and history. But I do think Winston's job gives him an even riskier role in society as he actively looks at "false" documents and has to internally "doublethink" just to survive. By nullifying Winston and people like Winston, it's easy to perpetuate keeping people apart and afraid.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea that everyone only perceives the present, and that nothing before or after matters. It definitely adds to the feel of a dystopian, and I think that 1984's citizens do have this mindset.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a good interpretation and the drawings really show the severity of brain washing that’s present in 1984. However, living in the present whilst it seems good is only good if you have room for free thought, which isn’t allowed in this society
ReplyDeleteI think this is interesting. After reading some of Goldstein's book it makes sense. After all this "war" is meant to be a perpetual state. There is no end goal for society to strive for, it has already been achieved. By eliminating the past and reason for rebellion, they have eliminated any possible chance that the future can change, because under their system, the world will continue as it is perpetually. Only a rebellion of some sort would change the way that the world works and create a new future. But that cannot be possible without knowing the past and the lies from the Party. Or is it? I guess the last part will answer this
ReplyDeleteThe party controlling the past is key to it controlling the future like you say. I think that is very difficult to remember the past that you witnessed when it is contradicted by every official source that you read as well as younger people who only know the fake past. In earlier chapters Winston met a parole that was born before the party took power, but he was unable to remember much about the past at all for this reason.
ReplyDeleteI like the analysis you did here - I think that what's really effective about the Party's elimination of the past is the fact that they don't actually have to get rid of everybody who recognizes the existence of the past, and how that differs from the Party narrative. All they have to do is eliminate everybody who is willing to admit that the past isn't what they say it is, making it possible for widespread thoughtcrime to go unnoticed by the population.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a great interpretation! I'd say living in the present is definitely a good thing, especially in this society, because people never know when they're going to get taken away and lose their freedom.
ReplyDeleteI agree-- people who know things are more likely to hold on to that hope and be more radical in their efforts to overthrow the Party. A lot of people are doing what Julia's doing, and I'm sure the Party is somewhat aware of it. But they don't really care because they know people like Julia are intimidated enough that they won't do anything too detrimental. Winston, on the other hand, is a lot more volatile and a way bigger threat.
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot of the points you made in this post. The Party's efforts to erase the past are how they are able to maintain their power. By forcing this idea of "living in the present" on the people and altering records of the past, they are eliminating any points of reference (i.e. what life was like before the Party took over) in people's minds that could become the basis of a rebellion.
ReplyDelete