Comparing the Past and Present

[FroBoy]

There are many instances in this novel where Orwell stresses the importance of remembering and recording past experiences and events to compare them to what the conditions are in your present day life. For example, when Winston questions the old man in the bar in the prole district, the man can only remember small insignificant details. He can't compare his current situation to what life was like before, and thus doesn't figure out that his life has gotten worse after the revolution.
This serves as a clear warning to readers of the consequences of neglecting your past. Whether good or bad, if history is forgotten, it tends to repeat itself, which is almost always a bad thing. Lots of people these days aren't as familiar with their history as they should be, and if that trend is continued, we could be in some serious trouble.

[neverlan0016]

A scary thing to conceive is the idea that the government controls what the history may look like. If history is to repeat itself, wouldn't it be in favor of the government and therefore the people who were once controlling us? We no longer as a society get to make our own history, instead we are acting as if we are puppets on string, copying the commands that society in itself puts on us. Sadly, the ignorance of some has blindfolded them into what is actually happening in our everyday lives, manipulation.