1984 (Part 2)

Winston is having a difficult time buying what Big Brother and the Party are selling because of his job in the Records Department of the "Department of Truth". His job requires that he go into previous records and change the information to satisfy the Party. This position gives him a clear view of the deception that the Party commits each day. Given time to think, Winston has realized that the Party has created a world in which the past no longer exists as it truly was; the only records display the perpetually changing truth that the Party decides is correct. Winston's questioning of the government may be discreet, but it is still a form of protest. Verbal objections to government actions and ideals are not the only things that constitute protest; objections in any form (including mental objections) are protest. Winston is protesting in the only way he feels remotely safe doing so; he is committing his own personal protest. Compared to modern protests such as the Occupy Wall Street movement, Winston's protests are on a very small scale. The Occupy Wall Street protesters are very open and insistent about what they are speaking out for. They have their expressive signs and their demonstrations in public, and this is how they protest. However, this isn't a practical option for Winston because he would be vaporized for such an act. Winston and the Occupy protesters are both protesting against a force that they see as oppressive in some way. However, the reception of protesting is very different in the two societies. In our society, protesting is allowed by our constitution - though that right has been infringed. The protests are viewed very differently by many parts of of our society; many people in the government are against it, but others agree with the protesters. Unfortunately, this isn't the same in Oceania. The government is completely against any form of protest, and there are no laws protecting anyone who protests. Though we may have many differences from Orwellian society, we are moving fearfully closer towards such a society.