preview

Private Interest Research Paper

Good Essays

Matters of privacy and private interest are generally just that, private, confidential and not intended to be known by any but those most trusted with said intimate matter. Public interest and public matters, on the other hand, are meant to be known by all, or whoever it is that cares to know of them. Oftentimes these two things are seen as opposites, very hard to confuse and equally hard to justify being seen as synonymous to the other. In Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice many of the characters feel entitled to know, more than they should about the lives of others. Privacy and private interest are in the public eye as the society convinces itself that everything about everyone must be public knowledge. However, in Nineteen Eighty-Four, a George Orwell novel, everything is public interest. Great, and illegal, lengths must be taken to keep anything private from the watchful eyes of the Party. Both authors suggest that private and public interest may be harder to discern from each other than is generally expected.
In Pride and Prejudice, the majority of the society of Hertfordshire believes they need to or do know everything about everyone, and even then, some are not satisfied. Even the “universally acknowledged truth” (Austen, pg 5) that any rich single man “must be in want of a wife” (pg 5) that begins the story assumes …show more content…

They patrol everywhere, on foot, in helicopters “snooping into people’s windows” (pg 4), even watching the proles as they go about their daily business, though they generally pose no harm to the Party. Everyone is watched by the police, and nothing is ever private to one person, everything is public. The Party has the will and power to “spy upon [citizens] night and day” (pg 174). Even the Party slogan, “Big Brother is watching you” (pg 3) suggests that anyone, especially party members, would be hard pressed to keep a secret from their

Get Access