Surveillance In George Orwell's 1984

Totalitarian governments, by their very nature demand control over the people, encompassing all aspects of their lives, and through the use of surveillance, this control is maintained. Through the works of Anthony Burgess in A Clockwork Orange, Tom Rob Smith in Child 44, and George Orwell in 1984, these authors take a closer look into the necessity of surveillance in the survival of any totalitarian government. To begin with, the motivation for using surveillance over the people stems from the concept of power, maintaining the power of the state is the ultimate goal, and as long as the state is maintained, any measure taken is worth it. In addition, through the use of surveillance, governments create an environment where the family unit itself is broken down, and society drifts towards one devoid of trust, encouraging people to turn on one another in the name of the state. Finally, the use of surveillance allows the government to form the next generations, molding their ideal nation, into one where the truth of the government is absolute, and any thought of revolution is crushed. Through the use of surveillance, totalitarian governments create an environment where secrets and privacy no longer exist, and the state is the dominant and absolute power, at the expense of the people

Technology is apart of mostly everyone’s life and daily schedule, but often people fail to realize the fact that the government has the ability to monitor everything someone does through these devices. In George Orwell’s novel, 1984, a futuristic government spies on their citizens through technology found all throughout their homes. The government used secret microphones, telescreens, and the thought police, a group in charge of finding rebels against the party, in order to monitor what people say and think. There are many examples of this in today’s society: Amazon’s Alexa, Samsung Smart televisions, and social media apps. Amazon’s Alexa and Samsung Smart Televisions are voice recognition systems

1984, a novel by George Orwell, represents a dystopian society in which the people of Oceania are surveilled by the government almost all the time and have no freedoms. Today, citizens of the United States and other countries are watched in a similar way. Though different technological and personal ways of keeping watch on society than 1984, today’s government is also able to monitor most aspects of the people’s life. 1984 might be a dystopian society, but today’s condition seems to be moving towards that controlling state, where the citizens are surveilled by the government at all times.

George Orwell’s novel 1984 reflects on the society of dystopian city Airstrip 1 where main character Winston Smith lives. Along with the many other citizens, Winston is controlled by the Inner Party by constantly being monitored via telescreens that keep sight of everybody and their actions. Besides using telescreens the government also easily arrests people in any case of “thoughtcrime” which consists of any thoughts that regard disobedience towards the government. Thoughtcrime and telescreens are two of the several factors that reflect the extreme surveillance in 1984. Orwell uses surveillance as the central theme of the novel to spread his idea that the usage of more extreme surveillance could eventually lead to a totalitarian society. On a less extreme scale, today’s society also has a significant amount of surveillance but many question whether or not more surveillance is necessary. With the many current text sources, it is certain that we need less surveillance in order to keep a stable society that does not take away the individualism of people.

Through the use of technology, Big Brother, the United States government, and social media surround the citizens of Oceania and America. In Oceania, Big brother is “[on] coins, on stamps, on the covers of books, on banners, on posters, and on the wrappings of a cigarette packet—everywhere. Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping [Oceanians]. Asleep or awake, working or eating, indoors or out of doors, in the bath or in bed—no escape. Nothing [is their] own except the few cubic centimeters inside [their] skull” (34). In the United States, the government and social media are spread across the Internet, newspapers, television, radio, to a point where we cannot escape it. As the gets to know Big Brother and its affects on Winston, the parallels between his relationship with Big Brother and our relationship with the government and social media becomes clear: Big Brother, the government of the United States, and social media are “watching you”

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.

The book 1984 and the real life world have many things in common, one being that surveillance is a big part of society. Many people in our society do not know they are being watched, people can be watched from almost anywhere, whether it is through their phone or while they are walking on the streets. By being watched you have no privacy and can not keep anything personal. Surveillance can have positive and negative effects but in the book 1984 surveillance had negative effects on Winston. It was negative for him because his every move was being watched, they had telescreens all over that knew where he was, he could not do anything without the party knowing. The party thrived on power and they got most of the power by watching every move that

The constant watch over the citizens is accomplished with the use of telescreens, microphones, children, and the Thought Police. If anyone is found to be taking actions or thoughts against the ideas the Party puts in place, he or she will be punished. The Thought Police keeps note of people’s thoughts, though there is “no way of knowing whether [an individual is] being watched at any given moment” (3). If a thought comes up that is frowned upon the individual with that thought could be vaporized, imprisoned, tortured, or killed. Today, there should be no fear over whether the government is keeping track of peoples’ personal information as it is assumed there is some privacy from the government. In reality, every person is subject to similar surveillance as those in Oceania, whether it is by the government, family members, friends, or strangers. The government has surveillance cameras set up around the country, criminals are going through trash, and hackers are breaking into computers, trying to steal people's’ identities. It is impossible for any kind of individualism to flourish if an individual or object is always watching or listening, but surveillance is inevitable, both in Oceania’s society in 1984 and in our society today, whether citizens

novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. Society in the novel had to face surveillance and

The stealthiest spies are those who spy in their natural habitat. A child’s natural environment is that of a home with two parents. Particularly in 1984, where individuals are, ideally, “working, eating, or sleeping” and in order to monitor social interactions, Big Brother asks citizens to partake in “some kind of communal recreation”(Orwell 84).These ideals makes sure that every citizen is being watched at every moment, with more time off the monitor means less data gathered. Winston’s neighbor, Parsons, that is talking in his dream, denouncing Big Brother. Unlike a professional spy, an adult, it is his child that has the ability to “listen at the keyhole” , deciding to “nip off to the patrols the very next day”(Orwell 240).

In George Orwell's 1984, the government was omnipresent. With technology monitoring citizens' every moves, Big Brother was always watching. This lack of privacy helped the government eliminate any threats; however, most would say it went too far. The omnipresence of the government through technology allowed the spread of propaganda supporting a totalitarian regime and complete federal control over the mindless citizens inhabiting the nation. Although the 1949 novel was predicting the world 35 years into the future, many fear the ubiquitous nature of technology today is leading to the world Orwell ominously forecasted.

What would the world be like if the book 1984 came to life? What if I told you that some aspects of the novel 1984 are slowly becoming true. This is never more evident than when NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was exiled from the United States for telling the truth about what the NSA really does to keep us safe. But are we really safe? What is the cost of keeping us safe? I believe that warrantless wiretapping and surveillance of the American people and the world even to prevent criminal activity is wrong because even a person thinks they didn't do something wrong , the concept of right and wrong can change in an instant. It is also wrong because this changes the future of our internet and Net Neutrality. Some people may say that spying by the NSA is necessary for the well-being of the American government but they are wrong because there are other things we could be spending our money on and there is no evidence that the NSA can ever prevent a terror attack on us or one of our allies.

In the novel 1984, George Orwell sets up a world whose citizens are forever under surveillance by the party. This forever surveillance and policy is illustrated through the concept of “Big Brother”, and the phrase “Big Brother is watching you”, which is continuous throughout the novel. This expression is advertized inside and out of Oceania as a remembrance to the citizens that they are being scrutinized. The Citizens of Oceania give into being observed out of fear of the party. In the real word, people are giving up their personal freedoms, and privacy allowing government surveillance to grow. The real word does not see this as a fear, but as a benefit. People are so consumed with the benefits and the convenience that technology has provided,

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.

The government in 1984 maintains power by using constant surveillance and suppression of citizens. Unlike the modern era, all citizens know they are being watched and are cautious about their actions. Winston says of the telescreen, the Party’s method of espionage: “Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it [the telescreen], moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as