Analysis Of 1984, Tracks Oceanians ' Everyday Performance

“Big Brother is Watching You”, is one of the most obvious connections between today’s society and 1984. In the novel Big Brother, the supposed leader of the Party, rules the nation of Oceania and keeps endless surveillance on the population through telescreens. In the real world, conversely, many individuals have hand-held telescreens, called cellphones, which they carry with them mostly

“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

Everyone has always wondered if people were ever watching them. Our technology today is capable to eavesdrop in on anyone’s conversations even if their phones are turned off. In the novel, “1984”, the party INGSOC uses telescreens to watch over the people and always know what they are up to. This denies the people’s rights and privileges to go about their business as they please. The technology we have today is almost exact to what big brother uses in George Orwell’s novel by taking over the public and private parts of our lives.

The strict surveillance of citizens as seen in Orwell’s novel, 1984, is similar to the government involvement in today’s smart devices due to their advanced technical abilities.

“BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”(Orwell 2), is a saying that surrounds society in the classic novel 1984. The author, George Orwell provides his audience with an abundant amount of themes throughout his writing. One very prominent one is Orwell’s psychological manipulation of his characters. As characters within this society are constantly surrounded by sayings such as, “WAR IS PEACE”, “FREEDOM IS SLAVERY”, and “IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH”(Orwell 4), Orwell shows the ultimate type of control within his characters. Orwell is able to achieve such psychological manipulation in his characters through physical control and the abundance of technology. Without Orwell’s use of telescreens, his characters would be able to have their

1984, a novel by George Orwell, represents a dystopian society in which the people of Oceania are surveilled by the government almost all the time and have no freedoms. Today, citizens of the United States and other countries are watched in a similar way. Though different technological and personal ways of keeping watch on society than 1984, today’s government is also able to monitor most aspects of the people’s life. 1984 might be a dystopian society, but today’s condition seems to be moving towards that controlling state, where the citizens are surveilled by the government at all times.

George Orwell’s novel 1984 reflects on the society of dystopian city Airstrip 1 where main character Winston Smith lives. Along with the many other citizens, Winston is controlled by the Inner Party by constantly being monitored via telescreens that keep sight of everybody and their actions. Besides using telescreens the government also easily arrests people in any case of “thoughtcrime” which consists of any thoughts that regard disobedience towards the government. Thoughtcrime and telescreens are two of the several factors that reflect the extreme surveillance in 1984. Orwell uses surveillance as the central theme of the novel to spread his idea that the usage of more extreme surveillance could eventually lead to a totalitarian society. On a less extreme scale, today’s society also has a significant amount of surveillance but many question whether or not more surveillance is necessary. With the many current text sources, it is certain that we need less surveillance in order to keep a stable society that does not take away the individualism of people.

In the brainwashed society of Oceania in 1984, by George Orwell, led by a totalitarian government in the name of a leader known as Big Brother, citizens are placed under constant surveillance from the government, preventing them from having individuality and freedom of thought. Although written in a fictional setting, the book strikes analogous similarities to the United States in today’s world. Due to a growth in surveillance, personal information and privacy are being intervened, however, not violated. While technological advances are increasing and crimes such as hacking and terrorism are becoming more prominent in society, government surveillance is becoming largely needed to ensure the protection

“Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves”(Reagan). In the book, 1984, Winston recognizes the power the government has over the citizens of Oceania. The citizens lack privacy from the government. George Orwell warns society about a government with total control in 1984. Based on Dana Hawkin’s article, “Cheap Video Cameras Are Monitoring Our Every Move”, as well as Beech Etal’s, “The Other Side of the Great Firewall”, society may truly have something to fear in the form of surveillance and information manipulation.

Anne Frank, a young diarist, once said, “Look at how a single can both defy and define the darkness.” Anne Frank was fifteen-year-old girl who was executed in Bergen Belsen Concentration camp by Nazis. At the time Nazi Germany was under control by Adolf Hitler. He transformed the country into a fascist totalitarian state. In George Orwell’s 1984, the city of Oceania was under control by a figure known as Big Brother. He centralized executive proceeds unchecked and unlimited closely parallels Nazism.

In the novel 1984, George Orwell demonstrates a world whose inhabitants are continuously under surveillance by the government or ‘Big Brother’. This surveillance is depicted through the image of ‘Big Brother’, and the slogan, “Big Brother is always watching” is ubiquitous. This slogan is essentially used as a method of reminding the citizens they are constantly under watch by the government so as to keep them in line. In the real world, the phrase has come to represent even more than this, however, fostering the abuse of government power, especially in relation to civil liberties and rights. As Orwell predicted, people in today’s society have willingly given up their personal freedoms, and right to privacy, simply exacerbating governmental

The amount of technology that has been developed and advanced in the past 50 years is astounding. Smartphones can be unlocked with facial or fingerprint recognition, a battery stuck in a stomach lining can be dislodged with an origami robot, and cars can drive themselves. These advancements are huge accomplishments for humankind. However, as told in the dystopian novel 1984, such can develop out of control and take over society’s regular life. Big Brother, the supposed antagonist, knows all and sees all through the use of technology.

Attention Getter: As the George Orwell writes in his book 1984, “Big Brother is watching you.”

The book 1984 depicts a society unimaginable to most; however, a further look shows us that we actually do live in an Orwellian society. Orwell describes a country called Oceania made of multiple continents which is ruled by the dictatorial “Big Brother” who uses different systems like the “thought police” and “telescreens” in order to have full control over the country. Our democratic government, through organizations such as the NSA and NGI, can look through our most private conversations and moments using spyware. Due to the secrecy of the government, citizens in 1984, as well as those in our society, fear the government.

Individuals claim that the states throughout our country are always being watched by the Government; our every move, our every purchase, and even our every commute to and from work are being monitored. Welsh and Farrington(2004) both agree in explaining that the closed-circuit television(CCTV) is doing the exact same thing. "America is on the verge of becoming a 'surveillance society' (Stanley and Steinhardt, 2003:1)" (Welsh, 2004: 2). George Orwell discusses that “Every single technical device that has been invented, restored, or refurbished in the last ten years is becoming an increasing negative towards individuals freedom of interference”, but Welsh and Farrington seem to disagree. "Fact is, there are no longer any barriers to the Big Brother regime portrayed by George Orwell" (Welsh, 2004:2).