George Orwell's novel 1984 warns of a totalitarian state in the future. The totalitarian state of Oceania, under the control of the Party and its leader Big Brother, proposes a society where the government is always right and where people have no freedom of speech or thought. At one point in the story, Winston says that “anything old, and for that matter anything beautiful, was always vaguely suspect.” The Party considers “anything old” and “anything beautiful” dangerous because they symbolize the past and individuality, things that the Party seeks to control and abolish in order to remain in power. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Party suspects everything that is old and considers it dangerous because they are remnants of the past and symbols of the past. These items can make someone reflect on life before the Party took control. Winston begins to rebel against the Party after purchasing an old diary and writing in it. He questions the Party's claims about the past, asking "were things better than now?" Old objects are also evidence that can be used to refute the Party's claims about the past. For this reason, the Party seeks to destroy or rewrite everything about the past so that there is no evidence of the past beyond what the Party claims it to be. Winston's work in the Ministry of Truth's Archive Department to falsify and correct past documents into "what the Party wanted" is an example of the Party's efforts to rewrite the past. After the past was erased and falsified, “the erasure was forgotten and the lie became the truth” and the only thing that would remain was the proof of the Party's claims and no evidence against it. The Party considers “anything old” dangerous because they are remnants of the past that can be used to refute their claims and induce rebellion. But instead of letting the past be used against them, the Party seeks to rewrite the past and use it to support them. As with old things, the Party would also suspect “anything beautiful” and consider it dangerous because it symbolizes individuality, which the Party seeks to abolish. Beautiful objects stand out and are not ordinary and boring. In contrast are the Party members, who Winston observes as “ugly, and would have been ugly even if dressed differently from the blue overalls of the uniform” . The Party seeks to abolish individuality in people so that they have no original thoughts and therefore have only the Party's thoughts. Individuality and original thoughts are a danger to the Party because it is the source of rebellious thoughts. The Party executes people who are "too intelligent" and without "discretion, detachment, a sort of saving stupidity" because they have individuality, original thoughts and are capable of expressing themselves. Contrary to what Party members think, beautiful objects are different and unique, which symbolizes individualism, which is a threat to the Party because it is a source of rebellious thoughts. Please note: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In the totalitarian society of George Orwell's 1984, the ruling Party manipulates and falsifies the past so that it is always right and abolishes individualism so that people only have the Party's mind. Protagonist Winston says that “anything old, and for that matter anything beautiful, was always vaguely suspect.” This is because old things are remnants of the past and evidence that can be used against.