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1984 Synthesis Essay

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1984 Synthesis Essay 1984 is George Orwell’s novel that is set in a dystopian society. In the novel Winston Smith is a member of the ruling party, the Outer Party. He also works for the ministry of truth involved in distorting and rewriting history. However he is against the tyranny of the government, the Big Brother. He is restricted to do anything because everywhere is fitted with telescreens. Just when he thinks he can link up with people in privacy and do something about the government, he soon discovers that O’Brien whom he had believed was a member of Inner Party was in reality an agent of Big Brother. Smith is finally caught together with a girl he was an affair with and they are questioned about their revolutionary ideas. When he refuses to talk he is taken to room 101, where people are taken to face their biggest fears; in this case rats. In the story, Smith’s efforts have been curtailed by the investigative and surveillance powers …show more content…

The only difference is that while the thought police in the fictional 1984 society employed surveillance to limit the freedom of speech and expression for the citizens so that they stay loyal to the Big Brother (46), surveillance used in the current American society purports to curb insecurity. In some selected instances, however, the gathered information is used discriminately especially when people such as innocent Muslims are targeted (Rigoglioso, n.p). The intimidation of specific groups in the society is reinforced by not only the leaders but also by the people. In a study by the Pew Research Center after the June 23 leaks shows that while most Americans are concerned with the level of privacy and government intrusion, most consider it acceptable if the surveillance is only directed to foreigners as shown in figure 2 (Rainie, n.p). Figure

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