1984 Privacy Analysis

“Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. Asleep or awake, working or eating, indoors or out of doors, in the bath or in bed-no escape. Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimeters inside your skull” (Orwell 27). The revoking of privacy scares those who are frightened by government control. "My friends told me when they read 1984 for the first time they could never imagine there would be a country like that, but it's happening now in Thailand," says Pimsiri. "People are really watching you, your computers are being monitored... and many people have been detained in undisclosed locations” (Bagenal). Not only does this novel open the reader’s eyes on what to be aware of, but it shows them through a character how depressing and hopeless life could and probably would be if a government was to become too powerful. There will be no freedom of thoughts whatsoever, even in the comfort of your own home. “It was absurd, since the writing of those particular words was not more dangerous than the initial act of opening the diary” (Orwell 18). Readers who value their freedom of their own thoughts and opinions can only fathom what it would be like to live in a society like

In a world where you get prosecuted for thinking something the government does not approve of, life can be scary. In the novel 1984, the citizens of Oceania live their lives oblivious to the world around them. From being under continuous surveillance by telescreens to the prohibition of speaking to the opposite gender, this novel serves as a warning to the people of the modern era. It gives an idea of what would happen to our future if people didn’t break free of societal norms. Orwell gives us a warning against a bleak, unfree future, a brainwashing government, and constant war.

1984 is a forecast of an anti-utopian world. Oceania, where the book is set, is led by the socialist leader, Big Brother. In this state, all thoughts and actions are monitored through

In the book, Orwell shows how people are affected by the telescreens when Winston says “It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen.” (Orwell ) This suggests that the Party’s surveillance tactics are so advanced that even your thoughts might betray you and get you into trouble. It also shows that people have lost any sense of freedom that they previously had. The implications of this are that the government is forcefully manipulating the people so as to avoid any rebellious behavior but in the process, it has also taken away their privacy. The idea of being heard or watched by something when you think that you have privacy is something that has traveled through time and still exists today. An example in modern American society could be how the brand-new Alexa is said to “record snippets of what you say in the privacy of your home and store it on Amazon servers.” (Tsukayama) This shows how even in modern times that there are means that might be used to spy on people and keep track of what they say and do. This is important because an American society that is said to be democratic and free still has a sense of secrecy and loss of privacy. The people in this society should find it troubling that they don’t have privacy the same way that people in a totalitarian regime had lost their freedom.

While the government of 1984 takes complete control over the thoughts and actions of each individual in Oceania, the US government only records information and extracts them only for a legitimate cause. In 1984, the Party keeps everyone under its examination at every moment, accusing citizens of thoughtcrime - unacceptable thinking of the Party - for even the slightest hint of suspicion. Winston purposely turns his back towards the telescreen whenever he sits near one, for “anything that carried with it the suggestion of abnormality,… [such as] to wear an improper expression on your face,… was itself a punishable offense,” (Orwell 69). By restraining citizens and removing those from society who are accused even inappropriately, the government builds fear upon its citizens so that everyone would believe the government’s claims to be true regardless of reasoning. Meanwhile, in the United States, privacy is still recognized, and government searches are not allowed without proper reason. Under the Fourth Amendment, people are protected from “arbitrary governmental intrusions... [for] warrantless searches of private premises are mostly prohibited unless there are justifiable exceptions,” (Cornell University Law School). As seen today, social media allows individuals to think freely, and yet there are no

The government’s use of cameras allows for total domination over citizens privacy. First, in the book, 1984, Winston tries to hide his

“1984” is a chilling dystopian novel written by George Orwell, set in the 1980’s, in London, in the continent Oceania. Oceania is ruled by the Party, and their dictator Big Brother. Big Brother controls Oceania through four ministries, Love, Truth, Peace and Plenty. Winston works in the Ministry of Truth, where he changes the dates, articles and photos of things to match up with what Big Brother is saying. Big Brother watches everyone through telescreens, which are in every room, and anyone who speaks out, or thinks to rebel, or even doesn’t get to their house at the right time, vanishes. “Big Brother is watching you” is the Party’s slogan, and is plastered all across London. In their society, the ideas of individuality, freedom and opinions

The book 1984 is a prediction of what the world would be like in the future. The prediction of the future in this book was made all by the writer's imagination. In reality, there are a few scenarios that are evident in today’s society that the writer predicted. For example, in 1984 there is a lot of invasion of privacy that occurs. Although in the book it is much more serious than today, there are times that the government is able to invade your privacy if they have a warrant or if there is suspicion. A serious case that caused issues for many people is when the government was accused of tapping into phones to try and stop terrorists. Many people found this to be a serious invasion of privacy, while others found it settling that the government was trying to protect the nation.

Surveillance is the most common and obvious method of control in 1984. The use of telescreens is one of the ways by which Big Brother watches the Party members 24-7. “Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so

In 1984 George Orwell describes how no matter where you go in Oceania there is

Shortly after world war two George Orwell obviously wanted us to know what could have really happened if the government gets too powerful over its citizens. So he wrote the novel 1984 to show us what life would've been like in a totalitarian state. In the beginning of the novel Winston the main character of the story saw a poster that had a face on it and on the bottom of it said, “Big Brother is watching you.” Already by that first citation you could guess it was one of those stories where people live in a dystopian, brink of human rights. I’ve read Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, which is very similar to this novel. They both could relate to the telescreens, limited knowledge, and human rights being taken away and privacy being invaded.

    In the first place, privacy in both 1984 and Brave New World are very different in the fact that privacy is nonexistent and invisible to society. Privacy is just one of the way both these books show dominion over people. Many citizens in 1984 are scared of the concept that, “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU!”(Orwell 2) This implies the fact that you are always being watched wherever you go either by telescreens or monitors that film and repeat what people say. People, children, and neighbors could also snitch on anyone that looks suspicious and causes tons of people to go to jail even if they didn’t do anything. Many citizens of 1984  commit “Thoughtcrime” which “is not something that can be concealed forever”(Orwell 19).

In the beginning of the novel 1984, the reader is introduced to how the government under the dictatorship of Big Brother is administrated as well as how it runs its citizens. Not only are the people of Oceania suppressed, but they are also audited through whatever means deemed necessary by the government. They are even watched through their televisions. Because of this the main character, Winston Smith, placed his television on a wall in his house so “Winston was able to remain outside the range of the telescreen, so far as sight went.” This is where Winston writes his qualms with the government down in a diary. Furthermore, the CIA, has been said to have “the capacity to break into our everyday consumer electronics….” The USA Today article goes into further detail by stating that, “CIA hackers could break into iPhones, Android phones, PCs running Microsoft Windows and Samsung smart TVs, and exploit the microphones inside such electronics,” (TVs are allegedly spying on you, Baig). It has been argued that this is a violation of privacy, but others state that it is merely for protection.

1984 by George Orwell is a dystopian- an imagined place in which everything is unpleasant or bad- novel that tells of the alarming future. The novel tells of a totalitarian government (called the “Party”) that uses manipulation and intense surveillance to gain control over the minds of its citizens. Orwell writes,"war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength (6)". These three slogans are the core of the Party. Set in Airstip One, which is a province of the superstate Oceania, the protagonist Winston Smith, searches for independence from the social norms. In the beginning of the novel, Orwell describes posters that say “big brother is watching you (3)”. The “big brother” these posters are referring to is a man with a

The government in 1984 maintains power by using constant surveillance and suppression of citizens. Unlike the modern era, all citizens know they are being watched and are cautious about their actions. Winston says of the telescreen, the Party’s method of espionage: “Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it [the telescreen], moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as