In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, memory is handled as a concept that is controlled by the party. The party controls the memory of the people of Oceania for the purpose of power over the people. People of Oceania have little to no memory of their past, they remember little instances from their past that serve no particular purpose. Part one of the novel demonstrates that concept through different characters such as Winston and the old man with the top hat. Winston in Part one faces instances where he tries to remember his childhood, however all he remembers were minor, insignificant parts of his past, “he could not remember: nothing remained of his childhood except a series of bright-lit tableaux occurring against no background and mostly unintelligible.” (Orwell, 13). Later on in chapter three Winston tries to remember his mother and sister, but fails again, “He did not remember his sister at all, except as a tiny, feeble, baby, always silent with large, watchful eyes.” (Orwell, 34). Furthermore, the old man with the top hat in chapter eight had the same outcome when trying to remember his past. All he remembered was his top hat that he wore at a funeral and nothing else (Orwell, 83). Orwell in part one, demonstrates that the memory of people of Oceania was limited to only a few minor instances in the past due to the control of the party.
Later on in part two, the way memory is handled becomes more clear. Winston continues to regain minimal of his memory just like the first part. He remembers particular events that has occurred in his childhood, for example the disappearance of his mother and sister, “In the dream he had remembered his last glimpse of his mother, and within a few moments of waking the cluster of small events surrounding it had all come back” (Orwell, 143). Winston’s memory of the past seemed to have developed slowly in part two. Although it has developed, it still remains minimal and random. Another instance later on in Part three also shows the random reoccurrence of memory, “Uncalled, a memory floated into his mind. He saw a candle-lit room with a vast white-counterpaned bed, and himself, a boy of nine or ten, sitting on the floor, shaking a dice-box, and laughing excitedly (Orwell, 258). Winston remembers this instance of his past randomly in the last chapter of 1984, this memory ultimately was a minor and insignificant part of his past.
Additionally, Goldstein’s book reveals that the party is in complete control of human memory. The party alters the memory of people to whatever they see fit to maintain control over the people of Oceania. “The past is whatever the records and the memories agree upon. And since the Party is in full control of all records and in equally full control of the minds of its members, it follows that the past is whatever the Party chooses to make it.” (Orwell, 186). Orwell later on in part three shows the Party’s control of memory, “‘In memory. Very well, then. We, the Party, control all records, and we control all memories.” (Orwell, 218).
Overall, memory in 1984 is controlled by the Party to maintain their control over Oceania. The people of Oceania have random instances where they remember minor parts of their past, which can be seen as insignificant and unimportant. However the rest and the majority of their memory is in the hands of the Party.
Word count: 586
Orwell, George. 1984. Fingerprint Classics, 2019.
Five Element Mountain 
I like how you divided up your argument across the three parts of the novel, but I can’t help but question your general claim about the memories being insignificant. Surely Orwell put those memories in his novel for a specific reason. Do you think it’s significant that almost all of his memories of his childhood take place in an almost similar setting? Do you believe that these memories began to develop more as a result of defying the party (thoughtcrime)?
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honestly my claim that it is insignificant refers to how random they occur in the novel, they usually are uncalled for. however to answer your questions i think that they do develop more as a result of defying the party. for example in part 2 he remembers the event of his mother and sister as he has an affair with Julia.
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I get what you mean by them occuring randomly, because they do seem kind of out of place within the context of the novel. Do you think that maybe that was Orwell’s intention? To make the memories seem out of place or foreign? As something that doesn’t seem like it belongs?
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Interesting take on memory and appreciation of authors choices. I respect your argument! Do you think that the memories serve any other purpose? If so, what do you think an alternative “sub” discussion could arise from the basis of your discussion in this blog post?
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good question, i think another purpose that memory can serve in the novel is an alternative way of showing identity through revealing glimpses of character’s past. also another thing is that they could be a form of punishment performed by the Party. what do you think?
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That is an interesting take on another discussion. I agree memory really does shape the way a reader forms an opinion based on the characters past. I don’t quite follow on “another thing is that they could be a form of punishment performed by the Party.” Can you elaborate a little bit?
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That is an interesting take on another discussion. I agree memory really does shape the way a reader forms an opinion based on the characters past. I don’t quite follow on “another thing is that they could be a form of punishment performed by the Party.” Can you elaborate a little bit?
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how do i delete this
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You can’t. You have to look at your failure for all of eternity. 🦙
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imagine when we see this in 80 years on our death beds
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yeah, in the novel the more Winston defies the party, the more memory he retains of his childhood. so this could be a form of punishment performed by the party, and if the character resents the memory for example, Winston realizing it was his fault his mother and sister disappeared, then it does serve as a form of punishment.
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That’s an interesting take on memory, seeing it as a punishment of sorts. It’s also worth noting that those memories were pushed as far back in Winston’s mind as possible.
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Thats a very interesting point. Good job overall it was really good and educational!
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To what extent
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….yakhi
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yes
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Responding to Ali’s comment: “I get what you mean by them occuring randomly, because they do seem kind of out of place within the context of the novel. Do you think that maybe that was Orwell’s intention? To make the memories seem out of place or foreign? As something that doesn’t seem like it belongs?”
yeah i do think Orwell’s intention was to make memory seem out of place, it may be to express other concepts. but thats a really interesting point.
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I really think your post was specific and hit every point that you needed, but I feel like you missed a small idea that could’ve been explored which is those instances where they remember their past isn’t their past at all? What if it’s fabricated to make them feel like humans rather than them knowing that they are puppets that were in Big Brother’s control since the beginning? since they control history and and can alter memory, then how can we say that they have a past if it was just made to make them feel hope and despair by making them realise that they can never experience that happiness ever again? what if the past memory is a tool that allows Big Brother to control the people better by crushing their hopes every single time by reminding them that HE IS WATCHING?
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good question, again i believe that memory can be a form of punishment used by the party by either fabricating memory or either using a harmful memory of a character’s past. either way works and i hope that i answered your question.
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