Lack Of Privacy In George Orwell's 1984

The masterpiece 1984 by George Orwell first published in 1949 is regarded by many as the best book ever written. It is a novel which explores deep into the human psychology and is a permanent warning and remainder for the ever-lasting threat of totalitarianism.

Orwells’ book is set in a totalitarian state where all who live there must accept and comply with every one of the Party’s rules, ideas and orders. The main character in this novel is Winston Smith. Winston decides to rebel against the Party and soon after this results in his capture and torture from the Party. By the end of the book Winston

1984 is a novel that is placed in the future where propaganda is the main theme. 1984 was written during World War II was taking place, therefore greatly impacted the writing and material that was used in 1984. Orwell wrote this book as sort of a warning to make sure that another Hitler would not come into power. Orwell, in an essay titled, “Why I Write,” he had stated that

The juxtaposition of Big Brother in George Orwell’s 1984 with our present day government and social media presence in the United States demonstrates the imminent danger of imposing figures who control both the actions and thoughts of its citizens. Throughout the novel, the narrator depicts Big Brother as a controlling force that takes technology and surveillance of the citizens of Oceania too far. Similarly, in today’s society, we are constantly bombarded with new technology by the government and social media that demands and records our actions as well as our inner thoughts. As Winston navigates his dangerous and dilapidated world, one can uncover parallels between his relationship with Big Brother and our relationship with the government

It has been more than seventy years since the release of George Orwell’s 1984, a novel that imparts a lesson on the consequences of government overreach. However, today that novel reads like an exposé of government surveillance. Privacy and national security are two ideas competing for value on a balance; if one is more highly valued, the other carries less weight. Government desire to bolster national security by spying on its own citizens-- even the law abiding ones-- is what leads to the inverse relationship between civil liberties and security. In times of a perceived threat to the nation, national security becomes highly prized and people lose privacy. One case is terrorist attacks. 9/11 caused an understandable kneejerk reaction in Americans to bolster protection. Some of the the measures taken were observable, like greater security at airports, but others attempted to increase national security in a more intrusive way. Privacy should be more highly valued than national security, and America has reached a point where that is no longer true.

George Orwell wrote his novel 1984 in 1949. Even though it was written as a dystopian political satire and many of the points he was trying to make were exaggerated, nevertheless we can still take a lot away from what Orwell wrote. To his credit, much of what he said in the novel came true to a certain extent. That is impressive considering he wrote the novel in 1949. Through his use of new topics and interesting characters, Orwell is able to provide an entertaining route to pass along some very interesting and important ideas.

As a political journalist of World War II, Orwell promised “Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for socialism" (“Why I Write” 7). In 1948, he published the novel 1984, attacking the fascist regimes of Europe and the English left-wing intelligentsia that supported them. In the futuristic novel, the main character, Winston Smith, desperately tries to hold onto his identity and spirit as the government attempts to control both the minds of its citizens and their ability to

The protagonist in Orwell’s 1984 is Winston Smith. In the novel the reader experiences the dangers of a totalitarian world through the eyes of Winston Smith. He, unlike the other citizens of Oceania, is aware of the illusions that the Party, Big Brother, and the Thought Police institute. Winston’s personality is extremely pensive and curious; he is desperate to understand the reasons why the Party exercises absolute power in Oceania. Winston tests the limits of the Party’s power through his secret journal, committing an illegal affair, and being indicted into an Anti-Party Brotherhood. He does all his in hopes to achieve freedom and independence, yet in the end it only leads to physical and psychological torture, transforming him into a loyal subject of Big Brother.

Winston Smith, the protagonist of the novel, embodies the assumptions of Orwell about man’s nature – rational, individual and has a constant desire to define reality. Orwell concerns himself not only with the failure of communication but also with tyranny using the language. The novel explores the effect of totalitarianism on individual human consciousness through the experiences of Winston and his desire to have the “freedom to have the freedom to say that two plus two is equal to four.”

The lack of privacy, in both “1984” and present society is detrimental, and has the ability to completely control and intimidate an entire community; therefore preventing society to move forward and progress. In 1984, Orwell is able to establish a lack of security. There are insecurities and worries behind every corner because, “Big Brother is watching you,” and it’s uncontrollable. In Winston’s case, thoughtcrime is a reoccurring theme in his life; and with the lack of privacy in his world, he knows that “thoughtcrime does not entail death, thoughtcrime is death”. Unfortunately, with the everyday struggle that is faced by the people of Oceania, privacy is not, and has never been granted and never will be.

George Orwell creates a dark, depressing and pessimistic world where the government has full control over the masses in the novel 1984. The protagonist, Winston, is low-level Party member who has grown to resent the society that he lives in. Orwell portrays him as a individual that begins to lose his sanity due to the constrictions of society. There are only two possible outcomes, either he becomes more effectively assimilated or he brings about the change he desires. Winston starts a journey towards his own self-destruction. His first defiant act is the diary where he writes “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER.” But he goes further by having an affair with Julia,

Is this the war that we've almost lost or where actually is your privacy today?

Throughout the book 1984, by George Orwell, society was constantly being monitored and limited in their freedom. Orwell wrote this book to depict the most absolute and powerful totalitarian government. It showed people of his time how this could all be a possibility in the near future and the risks of accepting this form of control. He was able to create an extreme portrayal of the extent rulers would go to, to obtain total power over everyone. In the book, the government had set up a world of lies and deception, which people had to believe or else their life was at risk. However, there was Winston Smith, a unique man in this newly organized world that suppressed individualism. As the book progressed, the structure and plot of the story

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.

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.