Book 1 Chapter 7 - Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford

Book 1 Chapter 7 - Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford

"But today, supposing that it could be somehow resurrected from its ashes, the photograph might not even be evidence. Already, at the time when he made his discovery, Oceania was no longer at war with Eurasia, and it must have been to the agents of Eurasia that three dead men had betrayed their country. Since then there had been other changes-two, three,he could not remember how many. Very likely the confessions had been rewritten and rewritten until the original facts and dates no longer had the smallest significance. The past not only changed, but changed continuously. What most afflicted him with the sense of nightmare was that he had never clearly understood why the huge imposture was undertaken. The immediate advantages of falsifying the past were obvious, but the ultimate motive was mysterious. He took up his pen again and wrote:

I understand HOW: I do not understand WHY." (page 68)

     In this excerpt of 1984, Winston thinks back to a photograph he found. In this photo, Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford are shown at a Party function in New York. There names are also displayed at the bottom of the photograph. However, during their trials, they confessed to being on Eurasian soil that very day. Winston immediately hid the photo from the telescreen's view and quickly disposed of it. He realized that this photo meant the three men's confessions were lies. Their confessions were written out for them to make them guilty of a crime they did not commit. Although they were released for a small while, they were rearrested and executed. He didn't think about this occurrence until recently. He tried to understand why the Party would do this. He figured out the way they did but not their reasoning. 

     The Party being able to influence confessions and trial makes one wonder how often is justice actually served. Big Brother is powerful enough to make someone disappear without doing much. How often is evidence, such as the photograph of the three men, thrown out or dismissed? Is the public aware of what happens behind the curtain and chooses to dismiss it or are they completely unaware? Also, if the public is unaware and eventually uncovers the truth, what would actually happen? Is rebellion an option or does Big Brother have too strong of a grip on society?