1984

Part One Study Guide Question 6

How does Winston view his job at the Ministry of Truth? Describe his attitude toward changing the story about Withers. In what way does this attitude seem to contradict Winstons feeling as expressed in the diary? How might this contradiction be explained?

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Winston admits that his greatest pleasure in life is his work. He is good at it, and although he despises the Party's reinvention of the past, he ironically takes pleasure in finding creative ways to complete particularly challenging assignments. Today, Winston creates a "Comrade Ogilvy" out of thin air to replace the name of a recently named "unperson," Inner Party member Comrade Withers, who once received the honor of the Order of Conspicuous Merit, Second Class. Winston creates an entire life for his fictional Comrade Ogilvy, and is sure his work will be found creative and satisfactory in solving the particularly difficult problem of removing a publicly-lauded Inner Party member from the records.

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