From the beginning of the novel, it was inevitable that Big Brother would eventually win and that Winston would be arrested by the Thought Police. He could never have an immediate influence on the Party. His long and futile struggle ultimately achieved no results, and eventually he was brainwashed and lost any freedom of thought he once had. One of the reasons for Winston's rebellion, and his eventual downfall, is his knowledge that the party will eventually capture and punish him. With constant surveillance of Party members, any sign of disloyalty could lead to arrest; even a little facial twitch. As soon as he writes "Down with BB" in his journal, Winston is convinced that the Thought Police will quickly capture him for committing thoughtcrime. With this wisdom, he allows himself to take unnecessary risks, such as trusting O'Brien and renting the room in Mr. Charington's shop to house his secret relationship with Julia. Because he has no doubt that he will be caught no matter what he does, he continues to rebel and ends his own struggle. The party controls all sources of information and does not allow people to keep records of their past. , such as photographs and documents. As a result, memories become fuzzy and citizens become perfectly willing to swallow whatever the Party tells them. The Ministry of Truth where Winston works destroys old documents so BB can never make a mistake. The past is constantly falsified and brought up to date. By controlling the present, the Party is able to manipulate the past. And by controlling the past, the Party can justify all its actions in the present. The party has the power to pretend Winston never existed, so he would never make a difference, because no one would hear about his fight. The Ministry of Truth would destroy all evidence of his existence, just as Winston himself did for his withered comrade. Winston could never have had an immediate effect on controlling the Party - he would never see it in his lifetime. He learns this from O'Brien when he says, "You will work for a while, you will be arrested, you will confess, then you will die." These are the only results you will ever see. There is no possibility that any perceptible change will occur during our own lifetime. We are the dead. This quote from O'Brien is accurate, if the Brotherhood really existed.