“All history was a palimpsest, scraped clean exactly as often as was necessary. In no case would it have been possible, once the deed was done, to prove that any falsification had taken place.” (40)
A palimpsest is a type of manuscript, usually made out of papyrus, that has been used many times to write on. Often times, the previous writings are still legible though meaningless. Orwell has found the perfect way to describe the history that the Party has created for itself. The palimpsest is a metaphor for the erasable style of history that the Party has created. Whenever two pieces of information contradict each other, they are immediately corrected to ensure uniformity, which is important in 1984.
Works Cited: Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007.
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