1984

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Recommended: Government surveillance issues

In the novel, 1984, the government of Oceana goes to extreme measures to keep control of their people. Almost every public and private place in Oceana has a telescreen, or a large TV that displays government propaganda. These telescreens have cameras that spy on the private lives of citizens in Oceana. If someone acts suspicious, they appear to vanish overnight. I chose this topic because it’s a recurring topic in the book and can be related to our society. The government in 1984 invades the privacy of its citizens. The telescreens are one way the government takes away their citizens’ freedom. The telescreens are used to monitor and manipulate the citizens of Oceania. For example, at seven-fifteen every morning, the telescreen gives forth a whistle that signals office-workers it’s time to wake up. In three minutes, “The Physical Jerks” begins. An instructress appears on the telescreen and shows them the exercises they must perform. They must participate because the telescreen is watching every move each citizen makes. They don’t have the freedom to choose whether or not they want to do the exercises on their own accord. Winston, who suffers from a varicose ulcer and a violent cough, must unwillingly complete each exercise, in spite of his condition. Another example is when Winston purchases a blank book. He hides in a shallow alcove in his apartment that is out of the telescreen’s visual range while opening the diary so he isn’t caught. Opening a diary is punishable by death or at least twenty-five years in a forced-labor camp. Other apartments don’t have an alcove in which someone could conceal themselves in. They don’t have the ability to hide from the telescreen and the government’s prying eyes. They must act perfectly, as if ... ... middle of paper ... ... in protecting American citizens but instead a way for the government to increase its control, and should be reformed for the sake of our privacy and freedom. Works Cited http://www.biography.com/people/edward-snowden-21262897?page=2 http://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-day-in-the-life-of-big-brother/ http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/03/opinion/beale-1984-now/ https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/10/polls-continue-show-majority-americans-against-nsa-spying http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/20/how-nsa-spying-got-this-bad-fisa-secret-court http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-van-buren/a-childs-guide-to-why-nsa_b_3403714.html http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/1/13/review-finds-nsametadatacollectionhasntstoppedanattack.html http://newamerica.net/about http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Fourth+Amendment http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001454.html

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