Government Control and Privacy Issues in 1984 by George Orwell

As mentioned, in Oceania, citizens lack privacy, have little control over their daily lives, and learn only the information that the Party chooses to tell them. In today’s world everything is in front of an individual’s eye because of technology and the power of media. Media is a great source of information and a way to connect in today’s society. On the other hand, media can always work against people and not be a good source at all. In 1984, the party is in full control of the citizens leading to the fact that they have no privacy what so ever. It is mentioned, “And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed – if all records told the same tale – then the lie passed into history and became truth” (18). The party would control the

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.

Surveillance, or a close watch kept over someone or something for a specific purpose, features prominently in George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984. The book follows Winston Smith, a middle-aged man who lives in the futuristic society of Oceania, where the government of the Party, under the leadership of Big Brother, maintains strict control of the people and prevents free thought through propaganda, censorship, and surveillance. Winston tries to think freely while evading detection and succeeds for a time in having an affair with his co-conspirator Julia, but the Party eventually captures and re-educates both of them. Surveillance has also become a controversial issue in today’s society, as Heather Kelly discusses in her article “After

This artifact is a video in which government surveillance is once again discussed. This artifact was published to youtube and features reporter Joe Biggs. This was published in September of 2014 and the reporter is speaking to victims of the situation, people who are subjected to lack of privacy due to government surveillance.

A world beyond what George Orwell could imagine has been created in modern society through the use of not only government surveillance, but also corporate and consumer spying where users are often unaware of spying.. 1984 is set in a neo-communist society where the government controls production of goods and spies on its citizens in order to maintain power. In the modern era, surveillance takes a different form. Often the methods for spying on citizens in the US do not involve a direct line from the NSA to the citizen’s home, it usually takes a detour through a commercial setting. By partnering with major companies such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon, government surveillance programs are able to collect far more information than could be gained by simply tapping telephone lines. This is more disturbing since many companies including Verizon, AT&T, Apple, and Amazon do not require a warrant to supply information to investigators, and do not notify users of data requests.

The idea of always being watched with no privacy is very evident in “1984” through the use of: children spies, hidden mikes and mass amounts of telescreens. These “instrument[s] (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely.”(Orwell 4) By including this, along with the fact that each one “receive[s] and transmit[s] simultaneously” (Orwell), it seems as if the author is trying to prove that you are never free. “Freedom is Slavery” (Orwell) is a slogan used in the novel to make the characters believe that all of the surveillance is normal in life, and that it is needed. Likewise, in North America Stores and shopping centers use security cameras throughout their buildings for the same reason

A mirror is used to reflect anything in its vicinity. The object standing in front of it can see itself. Imagine if that mirror had someone behind it. Constantly watching, observing, monitoring, and gazing into the other side of that mirror. The mirror wouldn’t be a mirror anymore, it would turn into a crystal ball. The sense of being watched would fill the empty space that resonates around the room. It can seem that our own society feels this way. This reflective surface can be the government (NSA) invading privacy, claiming to be for safety, and deceiving the people with the media, they want the American people to see and believe.

In George Orwell’s 1984 we are introduced to a totalitarian society known as Oceania which is ran by the political group known as the Party. The Party is able to control every aspect of person’s life by using “terror, surveillance, and a repressive bureaucracy to exert total power over the individual” (Kellner, 2). They are able to control their jobs, relationships, and even their minds. The Party uses carefully constructed tools in order for them to maintain control over the people. The Party can only maintain control if they are able to control the minds of the people and keep them in a constant state of confusion and paranoia. The Party does this by using surveillance, Newspeak, and manipulating the past.

George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" is a warning telling us the events in the book are possible by means of surveillance and secret police. Winston Smith is the protagonist of "Nineteen Eighty-Four" and gives you a first person look at the extent of surveillance. The setting of Oceania also plays a huge role on how the people think and just how the Party controls the citizens of Oceania. Surveillance in Oceania is controlled by a totalitarian group known as The Party. The Party has placed monitors all over Oceania to spy on the citizens and to warn the Thought Police of any type of rebellion. The United States

The government affects my daily life in a variety of ways. From food and health safety, regulations pertaining to Air and Water Quality, and even Public safety in relation to law and punishment. In my daily life, I am more influenced by local and state governments. This is seen through the different laws that are within each state and the regulations that a resident should follow within their own local community. If the United States had a unitary system where most decisions were made by the national government, life for me would be very strict and governed. I would imagine life almost similar to George Orwell's novel "1984" but, not as dramatic. In order for a country like the United States to prosper, it would be ineffective for a unitary

In this new world of technology, advancements of surveillance can be a forerunner of deception or false security. The personal lives of millions of people could be easily accessible through a push of a button. The government is able to now access our phone calls, text messages, personal information, and anything else that we have on the internet and in our phones. The novel, 1984 , is a perfect representation of what could happen if an authoritarian government controls our population. If we are not careful as a society, our technology could take us closer to the horrifying world of Big Brother.

Technology presents a double edged sword; it has created a fight between individual privacy and social connectivity. As children, we are taught to guard our identity online, as to remain safe from predators. In spite of this, as many people become adults, they feel nonchalant about sharing their entire lives on social media sites. As people invest more of their real self into their online identity, they make it easier for the government to connect everything they do online. The NSA collects data through a kind of internet “dragnet” that covers as much area as possible in order to collect as much data as possible. The more data someone puts online, the more data the NSA collects about them. While many people are comfortable with their online profiles, this “dragnet” also collects information about their search history, their websites visited, and their private messages sent. With all of this data, the NSA can create a near complete profile of any citizen that uses the web. A problem with government monitoring is that the data they collect can be skewed. Government monitoring removes context of the data that is collected meaning something that may have been innocently said can be perceived as guilty when viewed from a different perspective. Unfortunately, it is not only our government that wants its citizens’ data. Hackers can cause leaks of information from NSA collection centers, exposing personal data to identity thieves and

Privacy is the quality or state of being apart from company or observation, according to google. In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, he predicted the violation of a citizens privacy. Articles such as “Our Surveillance society: What Orwell and Kaka Might Say”, by Alan Greenblatt. Extended the information and informed every way someone's privacy could be invaded at anytime through any source. Violations of privacy by citizens being told that everything they say or do is being watched, so they must be extremely careful that they never so much as utter a word that could be considered inimical to the government wishes.

George Orwell wrote one of the most influential, persuasive analytical fiction books of modern time. The book analyzes the rule of totalitarian governments using applicable and not so applicable satire. The book reveals the dangers of a government gaining too much power over its citizens. The government abuses its multitude of power by controlling all the media available to the citizens. In 1984, Orwell fears government control of media because it helped brainwash and control the citizens in Nazi Germany and Russia. Today it continues to forbid free will and thought in areas such as China and Russia.

In Orwell’s, 1984, Winston Smith is classified as a member of the Outer Party, who works in the Department of the Ministry of Truth. His job is to change headlines and alternate history, so that the information sent out will portray the views and beliefs of Big Brother. Members are watched and critiqued for every move they make. There are many minuet crimes that individuals can be vaporized for, such as facecrime, being smart, acting out of the ordinary, even the slightest thought of rebellion against Big Brother. Each household has a telescreen that must be kept on and placed in a certain position that will allow Big Brother to view and hear anyone in the room. Posters are placed all over town with the slogan “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”, some people believe that the eyes on the poster are watching them. Big Brother has police officers flying within window view of houses to spy on people. If you do commit a crime, Big Brother is known to raid those homes of individuals in the middle of the night, taking them away never to be seen or heard from again. Vaporized. That’s what it’s called. Any proof of your existence is wiped out...vaporized...gone forever.