Surveillance and Repression in 1984

Today’s society is predicted as living in a world George Orwell envisioned in 1984. The system Orwell invented is compared to what the United States government is capable of doing. Government control of society is an essential subject due to the current mind set of the world today. In 1984, George Orwell represents how Big Brother is compared to today’s government, showing the consequences and dangers of a government with unlimited surveillance power.

Early on in the book Julia does not see a reason to fight for freedom, but believes firmly in love. To Julia an organization such as the Brotherhood whose intent is to revolt against The Party “struck as

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

All of the constant messages and propaganda causes citizens to have no time for independent thought. The constant stream of propaganda is designed to make everything the Party does, look like a glorious success. Everyone thinks the Party is doing well and is a necessity when in reality, the people would be better off without the Party. No matter where the people go, the Party provides a constant barrage of information, mostly untruthful, meant only to occupy their time. The Party also thinks down upon the family structure. The Party undermines families by letting their children into an organization called the Junior Spies. The Party then brainwashes and encourages them to spy on their parents. They are told to report any problems and signs of disloyalty to the Party. Mrs. Parson’s children are in the Junior Spies. Mrs. Parson is even afraid of her kids accusing her of a thoughtcrime or any disloyalty. The Party also forces the public to suppress and disband their sexual desires almost completely. They are forced to treat sex as merely a job where the only purpose is the creation of new, loyal, Party members. With such a lack of sexual freedom, it is obvious why Winston wishes to overthrow the Party and the face of Big Brother. When Winston is being tortured by O’Brien, Winston submits to O’Brien’s power. O’Brien is holding up four fingers and yet Winston says there are five. He is accepting anything

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.

The Party seeks to control everything- the past, present, and future. By manipulating every source of information, and modifying content of all historical records, the Party accurately displays propaganda to the citizens. Like our society, Orwell warns us of government becoming too powerful and taking civilians privacy away. Overall, Orwell is heeding a warning of a society in which government controls peoples acts and

The government’s use of cameras allows for total domination over citizens privacy. First, in the book, 1984, Winston tries to hide his

The relationship that was formed between Winston and Julia is another example of betrayal between the characters. After their arrest, Winston and Julia were separated and forced to betray each other. When Winston asked O’Brien what happened to Julia, he replied, “She betrayed you, Winston. Immediately-unreservedly. I have seldom seen anyone come over to us so promptly. You would hardly recognize her if you saw her...It was a perfect conversion, a textbook case" (Orwell 259). However, Winston did not betray Julia right away. Naomi Jacobs, a Professor and Interim Dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences wrote, “For we know—as, of course, did Orwell himself—that minds do not always break under torture, that some people suffer appalling pain and fear and yet refuse to betray their loved ones and their comrades in arms” (14). Unfortunately, it was inevitable that the

Mr. Smith is portrayed as an honest man with strong opinions. He is the ideal politician in an ideal society. The film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington depicts a "reassuring image" that happens to be "an image of the past" (Wheeler). However, in today's legislature, people like Mr. Smith are rare due to the fact that a politician's primary goal is re-election. The good of the people may come as another intention of a politician, but it is always secondary to "bringing home the pork." There should be more people like Mr. Smith because the legislature would be able to make decisions more effectively and efficiently, rather than how slowly they currently operate. This is an unfortunate truth, yet it is how our society has been shaped to operate.

and the point Orwell is trying to prove. Both Winston and Julia desperately want to continue their

Much like the society of Denmark, corruption crept its way into Big Brother’s society in 1984. Big Brother has absolute control over every aspect of its citizens from physical to emotional. The fear that it brings upon its people emphasizes the control and constant reminder that “Big Brother is always watching you” (Orwell, 4). Winston barely survives these emotional roller coasters that the totalitarian government has put them in and straddles along in a government job, trying to piece together how he feels and what he should do with his life. The society influence can be seen in hate week, hate rallies, and the two-minute hate. Winston finds himself conforming to the crowds chants and people having no control over their own minds as they would drop there own beliefs just as an assigned speaker changes sides. To the extreme, the government is turning kids into these mindless spies, robbing them of their innocence. Madness, again, drives citizens in these rallies that “[were] not that one was

Continuing on, there is a party member by the name of O’Brien who interests Winston, because he thinks that O’Brien is in a group named, “The Brotherhood,” which is an organization that secretly opposes the ruling party. Eventually, O’Brien talks to Winston gives him a book which was written by Emmanuel Goldstein; a former top member of the party and the man who started The Brotherhood. In the book, they are supposedly supposed to learn the how and why of the revolution. O’Brien then tells Winston that he is,

An important aspect of Smith's views, were taxes. In one of Smith's many opinions regarding human nature, he explains that the rich, once placed in a position of power, maintain that power through their dealings within a civil government which employs men of inferior wealth, to protect the wealthy lands of the rich. In layman’s terms a community with the bare minimum has little violence since there is nothing to fight over, but one with plush property and wealth, has a plethora of people fighting over one another. This is where Smith's views of taxes comes into play. In his world, the government would impose taxation, with the intentions of discouraging improper or luxurious behavior which he believed did not benefit society as a whole. (Smith, pp.18-20) When discussing human nature in the sociological spectrum, Smith likens humans to animals, or dogs in particular. The typical reliance of animals, once they're matured,on no one but themselves (becoming independents), is a characteristic that humans do not follow. I believe Smith's

The story focuses largely on the tactics of the Party?s manipulation. The major aspects of the aforementioned control stratagem are the alterations of history as the wishes, the invention of Newspeak to eliminate any chance of rebellion, psychological and physical intimidation, and the use of technology to monitor citizens.

Winston 's current situation working there is the major factor which lets him realize how Big brothers hold back the peoples opportunity to freedom. However, Winston keeps his thoughts and hate about Big Brother and the party for his own secret in his diary because the party will not allow anyone keeping a rebellious idea. After a while Big Brother realizes Winston’s suspicious behavior and has an individual named O’Brien sent to watch over Winston. O’Brien is a very smart man from the Ministry of truth, who is a member of the 'inner party '(the higher class). Winston comes to trust him and shares his inner secrets and ideas about the rebellion against Big Brother. O 'Brien tells Winston about a man named Emmanuel Goldstein whom claims to know the leader of the rebels against Big Brother. This also promises Winston to get a copy of the book he Longley desires. Suddenly O’Brien goes against Winston as Big Brother had already planned. Showing major secretive external conflict.