In George Orwell's 1984, Big Brother is Everywhere

753 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays on government surveillance

What Big Brother Is Really Doing

According to Google Big Brother is “A person or organization exercising total control over people's lives.” Not only is Big Brother seen in George Orwell's novel 1984, Big Brother is also seen everywhere in our every day lives. Our modern day form of Big Brother, is our government system. They way our U.S. governs with all its new technology and advances, we are never truly a lone. Our every move is constantly being watched. The difference between our modern day Big Brother and the Big Brother seen in 1984 is that our version wants to help keep us safe, not brainwash us to achieve total power and control.

In my opinion North Korea's government is currently the most similar compared to the government displayed in Orwell's novel. Just like Oceania, North Korea is run under a dictatorship that's cult like. Just like Big Brother in 1984, Kim Jung-un censors most information from his citizens, he punishes people for criticising his government, and he constantly advertises propaganda about war and how North Korea's the best country. The citizens of North Korea have no choice but to believe the information their leaders telling them. The Big Brother of North Korea (Kim Jung-un) is the ultimate decider of whats real and fake in his country. It's like he's erasing apart of history by keeping so much information from his people and the outside world.

I think all governments have a control in each country over what's really and what's fake, each one just goes to different extents. Goverments can control what their people believe by choosing what information they tell and show them. People tend to believe what their leaders tell them because we like to think our leaders have our best interests in han...

... middle of paper ...

... it themselves.

If technology didn't exsist, I don't think “Big Brother” would excist either. This idea of Big Brother has only become extremly prominent these past few decades and I think that's because of all our technological advances. Almost every location you go there's cameras that can see what you're doing at all times. Every email and every phone call can be monitored. All your locations and routes can be traced if you have a smart device near by. The government has the capablity to turn on your laptop cameras and phone cameras to see what you're up to. Some people see this as an invasion of privacy and than there's “Big Brother” who sees these as safety procautions. In this situation, I think the NSA(National Security Agency) is the real Big Brother. The NSA is the one with all the power to perform all these tasks by hacking all electronic devices.

Show More
Related

  • Takeover of Technology in 1984 by George Orewell

    628 Words  | 2 Pages

    In a world filled with technology we must ask ourselves, is technology taking us closer to the world of Big Brother? In the novel 1984 by George Orewell, Orwell has generated this unbelievable world in which no one would ever think to be possible, but then again pondering upon it our worlds are quite similar, it is slightly alarming. It was not noticed till recently that perhaps our technology is pulling us closer to the world of Big Brother. The technology used in the novel 1984 are correlated to the technology we use currently.

    Read More

  • The Individual vs. Big Brother in 1984

    1184 Words  | 3 Pages

    “That is what has brought you here. You would not make the act of submission which is the price of sanity. You preferred to be a lunatic, a minority of one. Only the disciplined mind can see reality, Winston. […] Reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Not in the individual mind, which can make mistakes, and in any case soon perishes: only in the mind of the Party, which is collective and immortal. Whatever the Party holds to be the truth, is truth. It is impossible to see reality except by looking through the eyes of the Party.” This is how O’Brien, a high-ranking official of the world of Nineteen Eighty-Four, describes the worldview forced into the minds of its citizens. Demonstrated by Winston Smith’s nonconformist thinking, his unorthodox actions, and the deconstruction of his individuality, it is this world of O’Brien’s with which the concept of the individual is incompatible.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Big Brother Control In The Book 1984

    1484 Words  | 3 Pages

    Also, "Nineteen Eighty-four depicts the horrors of a well-established totalitarian regime of whatever type with great power and skill and force of imagination." (Davis). The book 1984 was written in futuristic setting to depict what a well established totalitarian government would look like. In the book, George Orwell crafted many ways of how big brother controls society and creates fear. In the book “Big Brother is watching you” (Orwell) is a common phrase that appears throughout the book. The phrase is creating fear in the society, it gives a sense that Big Brother and other party members are watching and he or she is not alone. As well keeping the people in the society in place, so he or she does not “rebel” against big brother or the party. The quote “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.” (Orwell), to have freedom a person in the society has to believe that two plus two does equal four. While Big Brother and the party wants he or she to believe that two plus two equals five, the party wants the society to believe everything that they say, the party does

    Read More

  • In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love Government Surveillance

    1896 Words  | 4 Pages

    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:

    Read More

  • Government Control and Privacy Issues in 1984 by George Orwell

    1211 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • 1984 and North Korea

    1269 Words  | 3 Pages

    1984 demonstrates a dystopian society in Oceania by presenting a relentless dictator, Big Brother, who uses his power to control the minds of his people and to ensure that his power never exhausts. Aspects of 1984 are evidently established in components of society in North Korea. With both of these society’s under a dictator’s rule, there are many similarities that are distinguished between the two. Orwell’s 1984 becomes parallel to the world of dystopia in North Korea by illustrating a nation that remains isolated under an almighty ruler.

    Read More

  • The Invasion of Privacy in 1984 by George Orwell

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Essay On Lack Of Privacy In 1984

    1567 Words  | 4 Pages

    Big Brother is watching you (Orwell 3). Why is Big Brother so concerned with the surveillance of its citizens? In 1984, the journey of one individual, Winston Smith, is narrated. His life characterizes the recklessness and deprivation of totalitarianism governments have on not only individuals but communities by revealing the transformation of one monopolizing power to create a society of mindless, controlled civilians.... ...

    Read More

  • The Fear Of Conformity In George Orwell's Big Brother

    743 Words  | 2 Pages

    Your home alone in your bed, the T.V. playing in the background and sleep has its grip on you. As you feel your eyes start to fall something else has its eyes on you, Big Brother. For the people in 1984 this is how every night ends, and every day begins. You would think being watched everyday would drive one mad but not for this society. They have all been conditioned to think this is a normal way of life, and to question is as bad as thought itself. To grow up and always have eyes watching your every move, ears listening to your every word, and unknown figures lurking in the night. Ready at a moments notice to erase your very existence if you dare question the nature of your reality not brought to you by Big Brother himself. All of this surveillance

    Read More

  • The Impact Of Fear In George Orwell's Big Brother

    1130 Words  | 3 Pages

    What drives fear in people? Maybe it’s a depraved person, death, heights, or the spider on the wall. Either way, everyone is afraid of something. In the book 1984 by George Orwell, the characters fear someone whom they don’t know the existence of called Big Brother. He is the symbol of fear, torture, and persecution in the eyes of the citizens of Oceania. In the following paragraphs, Big Brother’s impact of fear on people’s lives will be discussed. Also, a great leader of Germany by the name of Adolf Hitler will also be gone over.

    Read More

  • Analysis of George Orwell's 1984

    4217 Words  | 9 Pages

    ...ailed as a system of government. Perhaps in Orwell's socialist commentary he failed to take notice of the trends being embraced by capitalism. Behavioral psychology states that reward is a far greater incentive than punishment is a deterrent. In society today thought control is much more pleasant, subtle, and diverse than it was in Orwell's vision.The media, television, the internet, computer games, and movies serve to indoctrinate us into the norms of society in a way which is much more complex than Big Brother's propaganda. We are depoliticized, kept away from the real issues by superficial diversions, much like the proles. Big Brother may not exist, but his name is everywhere. Perhaps Aldus Huxley's Brave New World would have better served as a predictor of modern society's fall. Orwell predicted that the truth would be concealed and that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley thought that the truth would be drowned in irrelevance and that what we love will ruin us. Orwell's political commentary and philosophical issues are still relevant, but we live in a world far more complex than he could have ever predicted. Big Brother isn't watching. He doesn't need to. We're watching him.

    Read More

  • Government Control In 1984 By George Orwell's 1984

    1048 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novel 1984 by George Orwell presents the readers an image of a totalitarian society that explores a world of control, power, and corruption. The main idea of government control presents itself in the novel by protecting and listening to the people of Oceania. However, Orwell suggests giving too much power to the government is a mistake because eventually the decisions they make will not be about the people anymore but rather themselves. In 1984, the power and corruption the party has is overwhelming for the people. There are no ways around the beliefs of the Party, the party attempts to control and eventually destroy any mental or physical resistance against their beliefs. The agenda for the party is to obtain mind control over its people and force them to adore their leader. The methods the Party uses to achieve its goal are: the use of constant propaganda and surveillance, the rewriting of history, and Room 101.

    Read More

  • Freedom Is Slavery

    426 Words  | 1 Pages

    The government has made society today feel the need for protection. In the 1984 novel by George Orwell, the people are basically free to do what they want, but they are constantly watched by different surveillances used by big brother. Some of the surveillances used in the novel included helicopters that patrolled the area, hidden camera-like things in the TV screens called telescreens, by the thought police, and by simple posters of Big Brother's face looking at the people.

    Read More

  • Essay On North Korea

    1534 Words  | 4 Pages

    From generation to generation, North Korea stands as one of the last remaining communist regimes in the world. In a country built on oppression and regulation, why is it that no one seems to rebel? The sad truth remains that loyalty and obedience to North Korea’s supreme leader is an inescapable fate. From the day they are born, idolization of “The Supreme Leader” is drilled into the minds of those unlucky enough to be born into North Korea. Some would argue that extreme control is imposed merely to preserve a way of life. The question posed, is whether North Korea has gone too far in trying to protect this way of life. Through extreme limitations on use of electronics, speech, and religion, prohibiting virtually all contact with the outside world, and extensive use of propaganda, North Korea has greatly crossed the line from protecting a country’s best interest to taking away any and all freedom from its people.

    Read More

  • Internet Privacy Essay

    695 Words  | 2 Pages

    Slowly technology has been disintegrating many aspects of our society, the internet especially. Although the internet has its positive effects such as its wealth of resources it has led to the loss of privacy. For example social networking sites give their users easy access to share information about themselves however, due to the explosion of technology it has made hacking easier to online predators. The government has attempted to help people regain their privacy online by passing the Consumer Internet Privacy Protection Act of 1997, although this law has been difficult to enforce due to the fast advances in technology and the web. In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, a society described to be constantly watched “Big Brother is watching you” (Orwell 4) , where there is no such thing as privacy or freedom of speech and the government is in control of everything. Orwell in this novel foresees the advancements of technology to be harmful to our future society, if we continue to let our privacy be taken away from us it will make us one step closer to living in a society where the government/large corporations control all.

    Read More

More about In George Orwell's 1984, Big Brother is Everywhere

Open Document