In the dystopian novel, “1984’, George Orwell portrays many aspects of the lack of privacy and human rights that ruin the lives of people through “Big Brother”, a very strong and controlling political figure in the novel. He is the dictator of Oceania and has the lives of everyone who lives in Oceania in the palm of his hand. The ways of this dictator are inhumane and questionable. Constantly exposing corrupt propaganda to continue brainwashing their citizens, constantly monitoring each individual to ensure they are not committing to thought crime or to any act of rebellion , and depriving the people of the ability to enjoy pleasure. If any were to rebel against the Party, hell would be brought upon them. Freedom has a different definition …show more content…
This not only is a major “creeping erosion of privacy” (Young People Give Up Privacy… 3), but the Party uses this tactic to further oppress the individuality in ideas, opinions, and creativity. The Party constantly limits the thought processes of the citizens as well as their ability to think on their own and“In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it” (Orwell 80) . Knowing they are being watched is what makes the Party so successful in having the people become almost like puppets. The main purpose of the telescreens is to make sure that no people commit to any act of rebellion against the Party. They try so hard to manage every aspect of every life down to every last detail, but in the end, one can not stop another from thinking their own thoughts. With Winston, even though he knew he would die as a result of writing “Down With Big Brother” (Orwell 19) in his journal multiple times, he still did it with no regrets. Nothing could help ease his pain of not being able to express his thoughts. Not even writing them down helps. This proves how much power the Party has over their people psychologically. The way the Party manipulates them mentally scarres their people. It confuses them where all of their thoughts contradict each other. For example, in the end of the novel, Winston looks up at a
Big Brother - Big Brother is the enigmatic dictator of Oceania. In the society that Orwell describes, everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities. The people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase "Big Brother is watching you", which is the core "truth" of the propaganda system in this state. In the novel, it is unclear if Big Brother is a man or an image crafted by the Party. In a book supposedly written by the rebel Emmanuel Goldstein, it is stated that nobody has ever seen Big Brother. His function is to act as a focusing point for love, fear, and reverence.
In 1984 George Orwell describes how no matter where you go in Oceania there is
Joseph Stalin, born Josef Vissarionovich Djugashvili, was a totalitarian ruler of the Soviet Union from the 1920’s until his death in 1953. Stalin started his rise to power as General Secretary of the Communist Party. After the death of dictator Vladimir Lenin, he became the Soviet dictator. Stalin’s reign of terror, lasting over two decades, included thorough surveillance brainwashing of his countrymen which resulted in the deaths of millions of people. Just as Stalin left his mark as a totalitarian menace, so did Big Brother in George Orwell’s dystopian world of Oceania in his novel 1984. Stalin and Big Brother instilled fear upon their conglomerates by means of surveillance, propaganda, media control, sovereignty, and murder in order to remain in complete control of their countries. The two dictators had one focal, barbaric idea in common: the ability to access and control
Nineteen Eighty-Four was meant to bring the mid twentieth century reader a novel full of intensity, love, and manipulation but also brought something greater than all of these things. Nineteen Eighty-Four created a way for people to look into a future created by Orwell himself, a future that slowly became a reality in the years since it was written. One reality is that personal space and privacy is never granted in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Every citizen is always being watched by their peers, the Thought Police, Big Brother, and the Party. This constant observation denies a person from being themselves and furthermore, stops society from acting as a whole.
George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 follows the psychological journey of main character Winston. Winston lives in a utopian society called Oceania. There, the citizens are constantly monitored by their government coined “Big Brother” or “The Party”. In Oceania, there is no form of individuality or privacy. Citizens are also coerced to believe everything and anything the government tells them, even if it contradicts reality and memory. The goal of Big Brother is to destroy individual loyalties and make its citizenry only loyal to the government. In Orwell's novel 1984, he uses Winston's psychological journey to stress the dangers of individuality in a totalitarian regime because it can result in death. Winston’s overwhelming desire to rebel
Rebellion, protests and freedom is a thing of the present day and to a certain extent is a given right, but what would society be like without control of the people and with a Gruesome leader such as Big Brother? In 1984 by George Orwell, Big Brother cuts of all sense of privacy and puts in secret police in their lives to keep control of order and construction in Oceania. False memories influence the way of life and creates three kinds of people, those who believe and honor Big Brother himself, those who go on with life day by day doing what their told and people like Winston and Julia who want freedom and happiness.
The fictional world of 1984 is best described as bleak. In the aftermath of the fall of capitalism and nuclear war, the world has been divided among three practically identical totalitarian nation-states. The novel takes place in London, which has become a part of Oceania, the nation state comprising the Americas and western Europe. A state of perpetual war and poverty is the rule in Oceania. However, this is merely a backdrop, far from the most terrifying aspect of life in 1984. Oceania is governed by a totalitarian bureaucracy, personified in the image of Big Brother, the all-knowing/ all-seeing godlike figure that represents the government. Big Brother is best described as a "totalitarian socialist dictator, a political demagogue and religious cult leader all rolled into one." So great is the power of Big Brother that the reader is unsure whether he actually exists or is simply a propaganda tool of the government. The party of Big Brother, Ingsoc (English Social...
Imagine being watched by your own government every single second of the day with not even the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and all the above to yourself. George Orwell’s 1984 is based on a totalitarian government where the party has complete access over the citizens thoughts to the point where anything they think they can access it, and control over the citizens actions, in a sense that they cannot perform what they really want to or else Big Brother, which is the name of the government in the book 1984, will “take matters into their own hands.” No one acts the same when they are being watched, as they do when they are completely alone.
Although you might believe you have your privacy within your home, you do not. Imagine the government being involved in all aspects of your life. The government has the ability to see all that is contained in your electronic devices. Government Agencies can see and hear everything that is going on without the owners of the devices knowing they are listening or watching. The privacy violations Americans experience today are similar to the privacy violations in 1984 because of television, electronic devices, and cameras. This has and will forever go on but the people will not have any knowledge of it, it will be in secret.
In 1984, George Orwell presents an overly controlled society that is run by Big Brother. The protagonist, Winston, attempts to “stay human” in the face of a dehumanizing, totalitarian regime. Big Brother possesses so much control over these people that even the most natural thoughts such as love and sex are considered taboo and are punishable. Big Brother has taken this society and turned each individual against one another. Parents distrust their own offspring, husband and wife turn on one another, and some people turn on their own selves entirely. The people of Oceania become brainwashed by Big Brother. Punishment for any uprising rebellions is punishable harshly.
Dystopian novels are written to reflect the fears a population has about its government and they are successful because they capture that fright and display what can happen if it is ignored. George Orwell wrote 1984 with this fear of government in mind and used it to portray his opinion of the current government discretely. Along with fear, dystopian novels have many other elements that make them characteristic of their genre. The dystopian society in Orwell’s novel became an achievement because he utilized a large devastated city, a shattered family system, life in fear, a theme of oppression, and a lone hero.
Today’s modern world may not be exactly like 1984, but there are some issues that are very similar to it. Some of the biggest issues that is becoming compromised today is the issue of privacy, which in the book 1984 was something that the people did not have much of because of things like telescreens. Not only is our privacy compromised but the government is also being too controlling. Ways today’s privacy is being compromised are through things like game consoles, phones, social media, and drones and not only is our being compromised through these things but the government is also gaining too much control by compromising our privacy.
When George Orwell’s epic novel 1984 was published in 1949 it opened the public’s imagination to a future world where privacy and freedom had no meaning. The year 1984 has come and gone and we generally believe ourselves to still live in “The Land of the Free;” however, as we now move into the 21st Century changes brought about by recent advances in technology have changed the way we live forever. Although these new developments have seamed to make everyday life more enjoyable, we must be cautious of the dangers that lie behind them for it is very possible that we are in fact living in a world more similar to that of 1984 than we would like to imagine.
James Stacey Taylor's article, "In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love Government Surveillance" begins reviewing the concept of "Big Brother" as it was originally presented in George Orwell's 1984. The Big Brother started off as a fictional character in 1984-- a dictator of Oceania within a totalitarian state. Set within a society in which everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities, mainly by telescreens, the people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase “Big Brother is watching you” (Wikipedia) . Taylor goes on to explain some examples of recent surveillance technology and how it is applied in lives today. An interesting note and comparison between today’s technology and that of the telescreens in 1984, is that people could be sure that they could not be watched by Big Brother’s telescreens by going out of the cities into the country, where they only had to take care that their conversations were not monitored by hidden microphones (Taylor 227). He contrasts the two, highlighting the fact that “Such an escape is not impossible, for spy satellites can be used to monitor people wherever they go” (277). From there, Taylor perpetuates the framework for his position on the Big Brother notion. Taylor argues that, "rather than opposing such an expansion of surveillance technology, its use should be encouraged -- and not only in the public realm" (227). Taylor’s argument presented in a more formal construction is as follows:
Ultimately, common ideas found in the novel 1984, totalitarianism, surveillance, and lack of privacy are also ubiquitous in modern society and government. Big Brother and modern day government have been able to control its citizens through surveillance equipment, and fear all for a little more power. There is much to learn from such an undesirable form of society much like the one of Oceania in 1984. Examining Big Brother government closely, alarming connections can be made to real-world government actions in the United States and the cruel world within Orwell's book.