Essay: To what extent history has been altered, in Orwell’s work by those using omnipotent power

When it comes to history, it is more likely that the majority of what someone knows has been remembered from their time in school. However, there may be just as plausible an argument in that some knowledge of history may have been miscommunicated through film and T.V. For instance, there is an undeniably large part of the population that know of ‘Big Brother’ as a reality T.V. show, rather than the all-seeing, all-knowing power of a government over its people. Unfortunately, most viewers may not realise either the connection or relevance of Orwell’s interpretation of the totalitarian state from his classic dystopian novel ‘1984.’ In this essay I will be examining to what extent history has been altered by those who hold positions of power in the present, whilst similarly analysing those who in Orwell’s works of fiction use their omnipotent power to gain complete control.
From the writings of Herodotus who was honourably titled ‘the father of history’ by Cicero. Down through histories most notable historians such as Thucydides, Von Ranke and the Annals School to more present day historians such as Marwick and Tosh, to name but a few. It has become a reoccurring observation that the majority of history one may have been taught in school along with the knowledge one accumulates during ones life has been researched, recorded and altered numerous times by presumably bias observers. ‘Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.’ (Orwell 1984) But is this a complex method of controlling the population or more simply how events of the past have been viewed through different eyes and times.
Undoubtably, people have always yearned to uncover the mysteries of the past. However, how one acquires that knowledge can be dramatically different in its origins, be it through scholarly education or the exaggerated tales of myths and legends from film and T.V. There will always be a discernible measure of how much of the truth is accurate and what is subjective due to how it has been uncovered and retold. ‘Objectivity has about as much substance as the emperor’s new clothes.’ (Connie Miller)
If ones accepts that the lessons taught in school have a certain degree of limitation through; syllabus, political influence, point of view or even the importance of history as a subject ‘since all historical judgements involve persons and points of view, one is as good as another and there no objective historical truth’ Carr (1961) Subsequently, according to the views of Jordanova (2006) if one had paid attention at school or not, then respectively the chances are that they may only have received minimal teachings. ‘the stories we tell as accounts without any claim to objectivity’ Marwick (2001). Similarly, There are aspects of fact within the dystopian world of ‘1984’ where ‘doublespeak’ and the ‘thought police’ are part of the system that stringently control how and what society believe, act and say.
Although one cannot deny any recognition towards those who have pursued an interest in history. This persistence towards learning, research or simply from the satisfaction gained from finding undiscovered secrets denotes an undying passion in the human psyche. ‘The function off the historian is neither to love the past nor to emancipate himself from the past, but to master and understand it as the key to the understanding of the present.’ Carr (1961) Such passion to revisit past times and events and to grasp hold of something no matter how seemingly insignificant it may appear at first glance and delve into its infinite possibilities should not go unnoticed. Neither should it be taken as an absolute truth because of man’s fundamental nature to interpret something from their own perspective. This combined with how the information is filtered down from those in power to the rest of the population may alter the understanding of facts dramatically.
For instance, Tosh (2015) suggests that to some extent it does not matter how one may view the past, rather than how they concern themselves with their interpretations of the present. However, it is more probable that this notion would surpass the way in which one’s value of the past inevitably affects their concept of the present. Consequently, by controlling the way people understand the past, it is possible to adjust present thinking accordingly. ‘Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.’ Orwell (1984) Therefore, just like ‘Oceania’ and big brother’s influences on it’s inhabitants in ‘1984’ echoes onto the real world, highlighting how through altering the way a society perceives the present enables those in power to manipulate and control people’s behaviour accordingly to best suit their own misguided whims.
McIntosh (1963) believes that the ‘focus of power and control grows as a culture or civilisation’s advance both socially and technologically’. However, by having the functionality of structure added to man’s ability to adapt, expresses a necessity for both hierarchy and one of peasantry. ‘Absolute power corrupts absolutely’ Lord Acton (1887) If viewing this through a Marxist perspective like Singer (2018) one could easily interpret that this power the ruling class controls, to carry out such unknown actions such as altering people’s understanding of the true nature of past events, reveals how this can be seen simply as yet another weapon in the arsenal of the powerful to rule and enslave the working class with.
Notable real life examples of Orwell’s fictional accounts that highlight the corruption of total control are the atrocities carried out under the notorious rule of Hitler and Starlin. Both these leaders are responsible for affecting a change in their own country’s history by editing it to such a degree as to ethnically cleanse their past. However, as Kershaw (2008) states how ‘the relationship between Nazi ideology and the racial imperialist essence maybe be undeniable.’ One has to inescapably appreciate the stranglehold Nazism had on all of Germany’s publications by only allowing print that was positive to Nazi ideology. Also, as Gilbert (1947) describes it as ‘a virtual straitjacket placed upon German scholarly efforts’ during wartime efforts were comprised of more factual statements of accomplishments. Therefore, by incorporating these elements in to the question of power and control aid to the overall difficulty to truly estimate to what extent actual events may have been altered or not.
One aspect of Marxism summarises Rytina (1970) is to ‘primarily look at the methods that provide for themselves’, whilst also trying to determine which strata of society employs the greatest ability to manipulate and to control this power. This theory can be seen throughout history with the division of people because of their gender, race or colour as being an effective method of control. Thus, by offering a different version of past events to the present population helps to create the necessary emotions needed to portray the idea of right and wrong, good or bad. Nevertheless, by analysing this line of thought it is possible to look back through history and to see how men should feel guilt and humility, or women to feel anger and oppression depending on how history is told. The same rules also apply when looking at race and religion, again points of view change dramatically. Each perspective relies greatly on how ones interpretation of the past is seen compared to the different points of view of others.
Even when one examines the tradition of the oral retelling in town squares of epic battles and poems such as the ones Homer and Sappho are accredited with. Such monumental works like the Iliad and the Odyssey for instance had to be broken down into acts due to the sheer length of time needed to tell these stories. Partially due to the length of these epic tales, accounts would have undoubtedly been altered every time they were recounted. Through continual re-enactments and interpretations, each rendition is adjusted dependent on how it was last recalled. In essence this method was no different than the childhood game of Chinese whispers. ‘Most dystopian, classic and contemporary, paints a future world that puts a twist on present society – a future world that could plausibly happen.’ (Lauren DeStefano) However, this way of communicating the past does not lend much to Orwell’s conception of power and control, once you take into account that the majority of the population were unable to either read or had access to any written accounts that were available at that time.
Almost due to a series of unfortunate circumstances, history has always had a tendency to of been written and recorded generally by white, well-educated men of their time. However, Whig historians such as Herbert Butterfield would see these as highly reliable accounts for just the same reasons that other historical theorists would condemn them. ‘History is not the study of origins; rather it is the analysis of all the mediations by which the past was turned into our present.’ Throughout the centuries those fortunate to be imparted with an education were primarily consisted of scholars, royalty and monks who were part of a privileged sect of their times that could both write as well as read. Macaulay (1968) ‘I purpose to write the history of England… I shall recount the errors… I shall trace the course’. With this limitation, or ingenious management of control of who and how events where written allowed foundations of objectivity in any if not all historical records, depending on who, when and why they were being written.
‘Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.’ (Orwell 1984)
In conclusion, if Orwell’s prediction of this dystopian totalitarian world of his future is truly coming to an even more terrifying realisation of fact rather than fiction. ‘The beauty of dystopia is that it lets us vicariously experience future worlds – but we still have the power to change our own.’ (Ally Condie) This only stresses the magnitude of how much dishonesty and corruption there has been throughout all known history up to and including that of today’s modern world. Even though something is offered as the truth, it does not necessarily mean that it is the real truth or maybe it is just another interpretation of facts told for us to believe it as truth. What the individuals behind the scenes realise is that the public often believe what they hear, and even more so when it comes from a place or person of authority. There is no denying how vital it is to think critically. If this does not happen, one would not be in control of themselves but rather more sinisterly they would be being meticulously controlled by a malevolent force.