Dawes claims that "Most people . . . do not make a distinction between truth and fact." What is the difference between truth and fact, and how do...

Let's start with your first question: what is the difference between truth and fact? The two are closely related, which is probably why people might often consider them the same thing. I believe that the simplest explanation for the difference between truth and fact is this: a fact is a verified or proven truth.

A fact will always be true, because it has been proven. But a truth might not be a fact—yet. So, all facts are truths, but not all truths are facts. Let me give a historical example. The Greek astronomer Ptolemy wrote that the sun and other planets orbited Earth. For about 2,000 years, his geocentric model of the solar system was accepted as truth. It was so accepted as truth that Copernicus's heliocentric model was thought to be blasphemous. Today, there is no doubt that Earth revolves around the sun. It has been confirmed over and over again. The heliocentric model is both truth and fact.

How does all of this relate to Winston and O'Brien in 1984? O'Brien is a fervent Party member. He believes anything that the Party says is truth, and he believes that those truths are also fact. To O'Brien, truth and fact are the same word. Even if you want to argue that he knows the difference, O'Brien still uses the similarity between the two words to control the common citizens. That's why O'Brien believes in controlling the past.

"Who controls the present controls the past," said O'Brien, nodding his head with slow approval.

He knows that by controlling past "facts," the Party can control the truths that people believe about the war and the Party.

Winston, on the other hand, knows that there is a difference between fact and truth. He knows this because his job is to change the factual historical record so that it matches the truths that the Party wants people to believe. If a fact is proven and confirmed, it can't be changed. But that's exactly what Winston's job is at the Ministry of Truth. What Winston realizes is that the Party will state a "truth" and then manufacture facts to support it. That's the opposite of how truth and fact work. An immutable truth comes after the facts have been confirmed. O'Brien and the Party don't care about proven facts. They simply want people to believe their "truths" as fact, and Winston knows that the Party's facts are not truth.