1984: Post 2

In the world of 1984 it is illegal for people to write. Winston rebels against this by keeping a journal of his personal thoughts. The Party changed around history before the 1930s and took out anything that might make governments look bad. As a method of getting rid of all that history, they have to destroy all personal accounts or writings about those historical moments. I think this is the reason that writing is made illegal. If someone were to write, then future generations would have a link to the past, which The Party could change if they wish it to be. Another reason that writing is illegal is because writing is a way for the individual to express themselves. The party wants to control everything and everyone in the world and people expressing themselves goes completely against that. Syme's job of destroying language relates to Winston's inability to write in his journal because they are both being held back in their ability to express themselves. Syme has to destroy everyone's thoughts that have been written down, while Winston is restricted from writing his thoughts to begin with. There are many other ways that The Party and Big Brother restrict people's lives and I'm sure more will come up as the book goes on.