"1984" and "The Crucible"

Essay by a0j6b June 2007

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Have you ever remembered something different than what you have read? This is a reoccurring matter in everyday life. Somehow, someway, the writing of history has changed over time, even if it is just the slightest bit. For example, there are different stories of why the U.S. has gone to war with Iraq. If you were to compare these articles, from when the war just started, until now, you could easily see these differences. Thomas Pynchon wrote in the foreword to 1984 that, "There is always some agency like the Ministry of Truth to deny the memories of others, to rewrite the past. (1984 xxi)"Thomas Pynchon was born in 1937 in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York (Wikipedia). He attended Cornell University but left at the end of this second year to serve in the U.S. Navy. In 1957, he returned to Cornell to pursue a degree in English.

He is a well known American writer. "Pynchon's work has been cited as an influence and inspiration by many writers and artist, including T. Coraghessan Boyle, Don DeLillo, Ian Rankin, William Gibson, and Rick Moody. (Wikipedia)"After publishing several short stories in the late 1950's and early 1960's, Pynchon began composing the novels for which he is best know for today.

Pynchon's quote is well stated and it relates to many situations in today's society, in many cases unrealized, such as, in The New York Times article "U.S. and Iraq Submit Plan To Security Council Session," written by Warren Hoge. This article comes from June of 2004; it states that adding more troops to Iraq is necessary. "We're confident that they will do the trick," he said they supplied "the missing link. (Hoge, PAR 4)" From the sounds of it, the U.S is trying to help the Iraqi nation with their...