“But this was concrete evidence; it was a fragment of the abolished past…it was enough to blow the Party to atoms, if in some way it could have been published to the world and its significance made known. He had gone straight on working….Then, without uncovering it again, he dropped the photograph into the memory hole, along with some other waste papers. Within another minute, perhaps, it would have crumbled into ashes. That was ten—eleven years ago. Today, probably, he would have kept that photograph.”
--p 79
Over the course of his writing, Orwell includes several flashbacks from earlier in Winston’s life. These flashbacks often reveal some aspect of Big Brother’s society which Winston struggles to accept. Winston is able to remember limitedly a time different from the present, or memories which contradict his current situation. Yet while he may briefly use these memories to fuel his temporary hatred for Big Brother, these memories inevitably fade back into memory. Like the photograph in his flashback, these flashbacks and memories are unable to convince Winston to act progressively, even in the face of such contradiction and oppression. These flashbacks only emphasize the fact that Winston is unwilling to take the risk in standing up to Big Brother. Sure, he walks in the bad part of town; yet that hardly makes him a hardened rebel. In reality, Winston is little more than a spineless subject to the Party like all the other mindless citizens of Oceania.
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