Freedom Of Individuality In George Orwell's 1984

Towards the end of Orwell’s novel that presents a dystopian society, the antagonist, O’Brien, a close member of the inner party, warns Winston, the protagonist and one of only two reasonable people left, that “We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them” (319). Winston, who has been taken prisoner for his political dissent, receives this grave warning tied down to a chair with O’Brien’s face staring at him from above. This alarming solution to the infamous mystery frightens Winston a significant amount, who after sacrificing so much, has just learned his fate. Orwell has brought about this fate to emphasize the perpetual triumph of the party over its enemies. In George Orwell's 1984, the author creates the totalitarian state of Oceania to warn the reader of the potential corruption and oppression of such a government.

We all use cell phones to communicate with people all over the globe or even a few blocks away. Cell phones can be tracked and used to “watch” the public. Our government allows themselves to listen to everyone’s conversations. In the novel, the party uses telescreens to watch over the people and check up on them. The federal government has a system very similar to this through security cameras and other means of communication. Also, the party uses the thought police where the people cannot have any thoughts against Big Brother or against the party. Winston states, “Big Brother is watching you”, (Orwell 2) and then he looks down at the caption. There is no privacy and nowhere to run from the party because Big Brother (federal government) is watching them at

One of the most important concepts that many individuals in modern day society value the most is the idea that they have the freedom to do whatever they please. The term freedom means “being able to act, think, and speak in any way one wants to without any type of hindrance,”(Dictionary.com). In the book, 1984, by George Orwell, the totalitarian society ruled by Big Brother, in many ways, controls its citizens by hindering any types of freedom a member of the society might have. In a society that is decorated with telescreens, hidden microphones, and strict rules, Orwell illustrates the many ways Big Brother uses that to its advantage to stifle the freedom of its citizens. However, under all the scrutiny of Big Brother, there are

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.

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

Similar to how telescreens work in 1984, our society has personal information analyzed and recorded by the government. Data collection is a turning more to privacy taken away from citizens. If people are constantly being under surveillance, people start to lose their individuality because people transform into automatons. On (1.5.65) Winston says, "It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away." This quote explains the significance of privacy, as even the smallest things in society matter. Orwell is foreshadowing the increasingly tighter surveillance on citizens and that affects society today because our society today is becoming more similar to the one portrayed in

George Orwell’s theme in 1984 is that an omnipotent and all-seeing government is dangerous and will demean individuality as well as free will. He portrays this through Winston’s failure to rebel while showing totalitarian governments cannot be stopped after they have been completely established. He also depicts his message through the citizens’ total belief in government propaganda no matter how absurd or inconstant as well as through the international solidarity and seemingly permanent nuclear cold war.

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

Have you ever been in a situation in which you have gone against what others have said? Perhaps you didn’t agree with what they said. What about breaking the rules for the greater good? Well in the novel, 1984 by George Orwell- Winston goes against the rules that the party has put up. He falls in love with a girl named Julia, and they are taken to trial at the Ministry of love. The theme to best fit the story would be- Freedom is Worth Fighting For.

Imagine being controlled completely by the government; cameras in every household, microphones recording every word spoken and propaganda saying “Big Brother is watching you!” all around. In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, that is the reality. Thirty-nine year old Winston Smith, low-ranking member of the Party in London, Is embittered by the Totalitarian government and its brutality to the people. The Party controls everything in Oceania; languages, history, sex, free thought and even individuality, by the Thought Police. Winston writes in a diary how much he hates the government, which ultimately would get him killed by the Thought Police if he was caught. Winston believes there is a secret brotherhood which works to overthrow Big Brother and the Party, and has a suspicion that a powerful party member named O’Brien is part of this group.

People hear about political issues all over the news and form their own opinions on them, but are they really deciding beliefs for themselves or are they just believing whatever the media tells them? Because of the modern day media biased, many people do not think independently, even when they think they are. They merely believe the lies the media feeds them and do not research the matter themselves to get an accurate idea of what is truly going on and how the control of information will impact the world around them. Because of people’s tendency to accept any piece of information that gets shoved down their throats, the US is slowly digging itself into the same government-controlled, no-freedom world as in the book 1984 by George Orwell.

Imagine living in a world where you could not make your own choices, or be your own person. In the novel 1984, this is exactly what happened. In a place called Oceania where there is no such thing as privacy and personal freedom (Roelofs), the main character Winston Smith, is living a strict life under the demanding party known as Big Brother. Winston decides that he wants his life back to normal and tries to rebel against the Party. Meanwhile, he is thought to be a lunatic because he is living his life how a normal person would, but everyone else is now living under what is thought to be a utopia society. Throughout the book Winston strongly disagrees with the fact that every second he is being keep under surveillance. Though at some points he believes he is being discrete, in reality someone is always watching. In 1984, George Orwell depicts the lack of privacy and loss of individualism which affects the characters and the society as a whole.

In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, the totalitarian government is adamant that all citizens not only follow its policies, but wholeheartedly agree with them. In order to maintain his individuality and avoid the Thought Police, Winston lies about his allegiance to the government and his beliefs and thoughts. He learns that his lies are weak and shallow after he is caught, and he eventually realizes the true power of his lies when he deceives himself. The totalitarian government Orwell presents encourages deception as a means of survival, increasing the government’s power when the citizens are eventually driven to lie to themselves. As the Party grows stronger and individuality crumbles, Orwell displays the loss of humanity as a result of a government built on deception.

George Orwell’s key objective throughout his novel, 1984, was to convey to his readers the imminent threat of the severe danger that totalitarianism could mean for the world. Orwell takes great measures to display the horrifying effects that come along with complete and dominant control that actually comes along with totalitarian government. In Orwell’s novel, personal liberties and individual freedoms that are protected and granted to many Americans today, are taken away and ripped from the citizen’s lives. The government takes away freedom and rights from the people so that the ruling class (which makes up the government), while reign with complete supremacy and possess all power.

Hopelessness, deep and gaping ever lasting hopelessness. If the course of humanity fails to change, to this everyone will succumb. That is the message that George Orwell has left for the future, and it would be in humanity's best interest to heed. Winston Smith of 1984 lived in a world that had been consumed by the everlasting abyss of injustice. Eventually this world became too much for our hopeful protagonist and thus, like the future that is bound to a horrific fate, he succumbed. “It was like swimming against a current that swept you backwards however hard you struggled, and then suddenly deciding to turn round and go with the current instead of opposing it” (Orwell 248). No one in this world is any different than Winston, they will follow his path like all of those before them, following the five stages of Kübler-Ross. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance make up the cycle that every feeble life will follow and that Winston grew to know all too well.