1984 Vs Present Day Analysis

1984 first shows its relevance to today’s times with the telescreens. When Winston is in the Minitrue, the telescreens are described as that they, “received and transmitted

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.

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

“1984” is a chilling dystopian novel written by George Orwell, set in the 1980’s, in London, in the continent Oceania. Oceania is ruled by the Party, and their dictator Big Brother. Big Brother controls Oceania through four ministries, Love, Truth, Peace and Plenty. Winston works in the Ministry of Truth, where he changes the dates, articles and photos of things to match up with what Big Brother is saying. Big Brother watches everyone through telescreens, which are in every room, and anyone who speaks out, or thinks to rebel, or even doesn’t get to their house at the right time, vanishes. “Big Brother is watching you” is the Party’s slogan, and is plastered all across London. In their society, the ideas of individuality, freedom and opinions

Surveillance is the most common and obvious method of control in 1984. The use of telescreens is one of the ways by which Big Brother watches the Party members 24-7. “Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so

The propaganda and surveillance between the United States today and Oceania in 1984 is eerily similar in the way that someone is always looking over you. Oceania had telescreens, which is essentially a screen that not only shows propaganda but also watches your every move. This is similar to what we have today with our cell phones and laptops. There is technology where our devices can see and learn what we are looking at, and use that information to throw advertisements our way. Imagine if the government could use the same algorithm to track what we look at and report it to the FBI? As far as propaganda goes I see many similarities with the way Oceania would tell their citizens information or the lack there of, and the way our media outlets

In 1984, the government uses telescreens to watch over the public. These telescreens allow the government to see what the citizens are doing, and it was a prodigious invasion of privacy: “The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, so long as as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of

In 1984, Big Brother doesn’t like the idea of privacy so that’s when all the telescreens, little TVs that can see what you’re doing and what you’re saying. On page 3, Winston was walking up to his apartment and with the walls covered in posters of Big Brother with the words, “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” (pg 3). This supports my answer because while people are living life, Big Brother is watching them making sure they aren’t doing

Our world is becoming like 1984 due to the similarity between social media and telescreens. Both coming from the same origin, technology, where each contains the issue of a stalker. The past and present are similar in the way that humans are always being watched through the very accessible technology. In 1984 citizens of Oceania are monitored through telescreens. Winston explains by keeping his back toward the screen he is safer, because anything can be revealing (3). By having these screens monitoring the civilians, the government is technically stalking.

In the beginning of the novel 1984, the reader is introduced to how the government under the dictatorship of Big Brother is administrated as well as how it runs its citizens. Not only are the people of Oceania suppressed, but they are also audited through whatever means deemed necessary by the government. They are even watched through their televisions. Because of this the main character, Winston Smith, placed his television on a wall in his house so “Winston was able to remain outside the range of the telescreen, so far as sight went.” This is where Winston writes his qualms with the government down in a diary. Furthermore, the CIA, has been said to have “the capacity to break into our everyday consumer electronics….” The USA Today article goes into further detail by stating that, “CIA hackers could break into iPhones, Android phones, PCs running Microsoft Windows and Samsung smart TVs, and exploit the microphones inside such electronics,” (TVs are allegedly spying on you, Baig). It has been argued that this is a violation of privacy, but others state that it is merely for protection.

1984 is becoming popular again because people are scared. People are scared of authoritarian leaders, governments abusing power, and the war crimes militaries commit to keep us safe. George Orwell’s book shows a world where all of these things happen. We are being spied on through televisions, phone calls, and anything else that connects to the internet, just like Winston Smith. These actions are deemed necessary because they protect the good people but at what point do we become the bad people? Winston Smith met his demise at the end of 1984 because he submitted to the system. Hopefully, we will learn the lessons Orwell was trying to teach us in his novel.

“Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their illusions destroyed.” (Friedrich Nietzsche) George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World both deal with the idea that to be truly happy, you must also be completely ignorant. When characters rebel against this deceitful happiness, outrage breaks out from the government. It is unacceptable to stray from the norms. It is a topic also portrayed in today’s society. 1984, Brave New World, and contemporary western society all use media to promote the government’s ideas to their respective societies. All three societies also have distinct definitions of what romantic and sexual relationships should be. Going against the deceiving ideas and definitions they have

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. Surveillance has also become a controversial issue in today’s society, as Heather Kelly discusses in her article “After Boston: The pros and cons of surveillance cameras”. Kelly presents both sides of the debate concerning the role of surveillance in fighting crime, especially in light of the Boston Marathon bombings. Supporters of surveillance point to its ability to increase safety and security by deterring crime and assisting in criminal investigations. However, opponents worry that it intrudes too much on the privacy of citizens, violating what they consider people’s right to privacy. Though in 1984 Orwell portrays surveillance as dystopian because it helps enforce the restriction of free thought by constantly watching for any abnormal expression, Heather Kelly shows in her article “After Boston” that surveillance in today’s world is more utopian since it helps

Just like the government (party) in 1984, our government also restrict and control us in diverse ways. In 1984 “The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound Winston made, above the level of a low whisper, would be picked up by it”. In our society the “telescreen” is considered the phone. The government society uses our phones to constantly monitor everything we do. Both societies, in the novel and modern day, we accept this and tend to be oblivious about how we’re being watched. Another example would be today's school system. The schools restrict our reality by teaching us their version of history. What the school teaches us cannot be verified if it actually happened or not. In both societies, everything is objective from how