Dehumanization In 1984

The Party uses surveillance in various intrusive ways to police the thoughts and actions of the people. In the opening scene, Winston uses an alcove in his flat to write in his diary out of sight of the telescreen, an instrument similar to a television that cannot be turned off. Winston knows that it is watching his every move. Later, when O’Brien simply turns off his telescreen, Winston is amazed at this inconceivable privilege. The screens cover public areas as well as each house in Oceania. Also covering the streets are posters of a man with a black moustache and following eyes, which everyone knows as Big Brother. This idyllic, anonymous figure

Big Brother is the controlling dictator of Oceania, which is the totalitarian state that the Party bows total power to. Every citizen, is under persistent surveillance by the authorities, the Thought Police. The citizens are mainly being monitored by tele-screens. These screens operate both as televisions and security cameras. Tele-screens are located in every room that belongs to a Party member as well as public locations. People in Oceania are constantly reminded that “Big Brother is watching you.” Big Brother is described as a figure that will never die because he is the representation of the Party and is said to live as long as the Party lives.

One parallel from modern day life to George Orwel’s 1984 is the Telescreens or “big brother is watching you” to the NSA’s surveillance. In the novel the telescreen is a device similar to a TV combined with a security camera. The device is used by the party to monitor the behavior of the inner and outer party members and to insure that they are not plotting against the party. The people of the inner and outer party have very little to no privacy.

Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell, is a superb novel with outstanding themes. One of the most prominent themes found in this novel is psychological manipulation. Citizens in this society are subject to ever present signs declaring “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” (Orwell 1). Along with psychological manipulation, physical control takes place. The Party not only controls what people in Oceania think, but what they do as well. Technology is another important theme. Without the constant telescreens, microphones, and computers, the Party would be all but powerless. Big Brother is the main figure of the Party. The main symbol that drives these themes is the telescreens. It is representative of the party always watching and controlling

Sexual repression theme: this is Winston's dream- the only safe place for independent thought. Citizens of Oceania are not allowed to have sexual pleasure; only reproduction of more Party members. He is rebelling- which is against the law and he can be caught by the thought police for having these thoughts.

“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 is a cautionary tale that follows Winston through the cruel world he lives in. To give a bit of background, the novel was published on June 8th, 1949, only about two years into the start of the cold war. The “horror” of communism was rampant during this time, and George Orwell wanted to show what could happen if a government had so much control over the people of their country. He wanted people to understand that governments should not be able to dehumanize people, otherwise the people living there aren’t technically human. Orwell wanted people to know how to stay human, they just have to have a personality, and to hold onto your own opinions. According to George Orwell, it doesn’t take a lot to be human, but the few things it does take are so important, that if we were to let them go, our worlds would fall apart. George Orwell wants his readers to understand and hold on to the things that are important to us, the ones we love, the things we do, the people we are, because those are the things that truly make us

Thirty-three years ago, the unpleasantry that novelist George Orwell dreamt of never became the reality he predicted it would in 1949. The year 1984 was supposed to take society on an absolute turn for the worst, becoming a global dystopia in which everyone lived under the regulation and dominance of one of three totalitarian superstates. Orwell wrote of this future in his book 1984, creating the fictional universe of Oceania in which the lives of Winston Smith and the other characters in Oceania seemed genuinely real, especially by use of various literary devices. Motifs such as the linguistic concept of Newspeak and the majority of society’s convergence of feelings towards the Party and Big Brother appear multiple times throughout the pages of the novel. Through such recurring ideas, a major theme stands out - the lack of self-expression. Living under an authoritarian and oppressive government, party members such as Winston are forced to follow the socialist policies of Ingsoc. In the book it is written that, “The two aims of the Party are to conquer the whole surface of the earth and to extinguish once and for all the possibility of dependent thought” (Orwell 193). If everyone were to give into the Party, self-expression would be entirely eliminated because everyone and everything would be censored. With such motives made clear, Winston along with a minority realize the absurdity in the Party’s ways. Nevertheless, many more others do not, loving Big Brother and embracing

Big Brother is the face of the oppressive government of Oceania. There are posters everywhere conveying a message that you are always being watched by Big Brother. This feeling of constant surveillance through telescreens and secret microphones all over Oceania invokes fear to all the people. As the novel states, “Always eyes watching you. Asleep or awake, indoors or out of doors, in the bath or bed – no escape. Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimeters in your skull.” The telescreens are very dangerous to be around because the slightest of abnormality could expose you to be a thought criminal. Even in the comfort of one’s own home, while working, there is not a time that the Party is not monitoring anyone for suspicious activities. Big Brother represents the fear in people. Fear is continuously exploited by the Party throughout the book. “Ours is founded upon hatred. In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage…” This quote explains to us that there will still be fear in the future because the foundation of their world is made up of rage. Big Brother is the biggest figure that everyone fears, even at the end of the book. Hence this shows that the meaning of fear is unchanging. The proles are easily manipulated because a frightened population is easier to control

            Big Brother’s opinions are strict—very strict.  They are so strict that there are oversized cameras called telescreens installed everywhere throughout Oceania.  The telescreens ensure that nothing is said about Oceania’s perfect leader.  This device is installed as a reminder that “Big Brother is always watching” (Orwell, 1949).

In George Orwell’s novel, “1984”,is about a main character Winston, who is an ordinary citizen of Oceania. The totalitarian society is led by Big Brother. Television screens are strategically placed everywhere watching citizens’ every move. Leaving them in constant fear and paranoia. The corrupt society lead to some citizens wanting to rebel. If they were ever caught, they would be severely punished. This kept wearing citizens down. The dehumanization of citizens of Oceania was due to propaganda, mind control, and the lack of privacy.

Imagine a world where mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters are no longer a part of society. Imagine a world of lifeless shells of humans. Both Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, and 1984, by George Orwell, portray such societies that have been degraded by the idea of ‘utopia'. In such a distraught society it's no surprise that people will loss their humanity. For those characters that still had sanity, the impact of this world would twist their minds to the limit.

In Orwell’s novel he creates a fictional society in which the government rules all the people and holds complete power over everyone. The government is referred to as ‘The Party’ and they depict themselves and flawless, generous, and so very helpful to all of mankind. They feed the people lies and tell them that without them (The Party), the citizens would be hopeless and could not possibly survive. The government holds onto their widespread power by instilling fear upon all citizens. They openly let the people know that they have spies hidden everywhere, and they have various technological devices that will ensure that every person is acting exactly how the government wants them to. For example, the ‘telescreen’ was a device that was mandatory in every citizen’s house and was installed by the government. It was basically a video recorder that could watch a person’s every move, as well as read off important news from the government rulers. The main character in Orwell’s novel, Winston Smith, expresses his thoughts about the telescreen by realizing that “at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live -- did live, from habit that became instinct -- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and,

Winston explains, They could spy upon you night and day, but if you kept your head you could still outwit them” (Orwell 166). This shows that the telescreen is always watching with its “never-sleeping ear.” However, one thing the telescreens cannot control is the human mind and knowledge. This where the media and news and the how the Party runs it comes

One of the main ways the government inflicts their control on the citizens is through the invasion of privacy. In this society, every home is installed with telescreens and microphones that watch the residents every move. The government does this to watch for any signs of abnormality in citizens. The cameras are installed in streets as well to prevent conspiring among the citizens. Citizens are watched everywhere and there is no escape from being scrutinized. The caption “Big Brother is Watching You” (Orwell 3), is posted all over the city as a constant reminder to people that they are never away from Big Brother’s watch and that Big Brother knows everything. Winston feels that the picture is “so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move” (Orwell 3). Obviously, pictures can not move, yet Winston feels like it watches him constantly.