Meeting Winston July 18, pages 37-69 RR2

Winston Smith’s job in the Records Department at the Ministry of Truth represents the mental control the Party has over the public. The main purpose of the Records Department is to change any past document so that the information reflects where the government stands at that particular time. George Orwell has Winston work in the Records Department as an ironic scenario. Since documents can be distorted, the government can orchestrate facts and brain wash its people. The irony is that Winston works to create the very control he loathes. In addition, the author uses the Ministry of Plenty as a tool to demonstrate the mental control the Party has. The Ministry of Plenty puts out a forecast for the goods that are going to be produced, and then after all products are completed the forecast is changed by the Records Department to make the claim that the quota had been overfilled. Orwell creates this situation to illustrate that the public has no way of telling if the Ministry of Plenty has made any goods at all. The Party can declare any quantity they want, but not have to validate their statement. They deceive the community into thinking whatever they like.