Oceania was a totalitarian society led by Big Brother, which censored everyone's behaviour, even their thoughts. Winston was angry with his oppressed life and secretly wanted to join the fabled Brotherhood, a group of underground rebels with the intent of overthrowing the government. The book was written partly in third person, and partly in first person seen through the main character's eyes.
The extract from the Novel 1984 is centered on where Winston's brutal torture begins. At the hands of O"Brien, who represents Big Brother incarnate, Winston endures constant beatings, electric shock treatment, and psychological abuse. Winston fights bravely to endure the excruciating pain but he is powerless. Slowly, as he deals with more increasingly painful shocks, O"Brien tells Winston,.
"Who controls the past 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past'".
The Party has complete control over the population in the present. They destroy the people's history and in time the erase is forgotten and the Party create their own history. They use this control to influence people's memories, editing the ones that are no longer worthwhile because they have no point of comparison, there can be no rebellion, no lack of trust in the Party's motivation. This then gives them control of the future. The process of loving his torturer is part of his conversion to INGSOC (English Socialism). O"Brien speaking to Winston of the party's slogan was to try and have an affect on Winston belief of what was real and what was an illusion that could be created by his own wanting to believe in something that he wanted as real. He tries show Winston that people have opinions about something and it was only an opinion and nothing more. That to Winston his memory of his past was only true in his own opinion. .
"Is it your opinion, Winston, that the past has real existence?".
Like a tutor preparing the student for a test, O"Brien quizzes Winston on the history of Oceania and the meaning of subjective reality.
