The Past

 The importance of the past is evident in these readings. Winston is fascinated by Charrington’s possessions, and what they symbolized before the revolution. These items are rebellious to Ingsoc’s tendency to alter and wipe history, and it made me think of another dystopian novel, The Giver.

If you haven’t read it, I highly suggest you do. The similarities between the two is the way in which new-society lets go of the past, and uses that erasure to their advantage, or to achieve a goal. In 1984, it is simply to quell any rebellion and control the minds of people, but in The Giver, it's used to forget feelings that could cause conflict. Anything too far on either side of the spectrum has been completely forgotten by the community in The Giver. The past and what we can learn from it are crucial to who we are.