Paranoia In 1984 George Orwell

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Recommended: 1984 and does privacy matter today

Imagine that the U.S government is placing hidden cameras all over your house. Being watched without consent is very frightening because you are having your privacy taken from you. In 1984 this scenario is their reality every day of their lives and it does not bother most people, except for Winston. Winston and the rest of his society are robbed of their freedom of thought and their privacy due to being monitored and told what to do all the time. The reality in the world of 1984 is like ours, but it is not to the same degree of surveillance. Our world is becoming like the world of 1984 because the U.S Government and The Party’s surveillance over their citizens causes paranoia and a lack of trust in the government. Through the Party’s use of
In a section of the article that was published by The Atlantic, the author writes about how the NSA spies on the people and how the author and his friend Dalton try to escape their surveillance. The author further argues, “To think that virtually every human act, every utterance, transaction, and conversation that occurred out here—here in the world that seemed so vast and bustling, so magnificently complex—could one day be coded, compressed, and stuck in there, in a cluster of buildings no larger than a couple of shopping malls” (Kirn). The author understands that the NSA can listen to anything they want, but do it quietly and under the radar. The NSA has no limit to the amount surveillance they can conduct and this concerns Kirn because he does not want to be constantly watched and lose his rights of privacy. Similarly, the Thought Police makes Winston so worried that he thinks Julia is a spy from the Thought Police who is supposed to follow him and expose him for the acts he committed against the Party. Winston continues, “There was no doubting any longer that the girl was spying on him. . . It was too great a coincidence” (Orwell 101). Winston can’t handle the fact that he is regularly being surveilled all the time, which creates his paranoia because he is afraid to be caught for his rebellious acts against the Party. Another reason why Winston is so paranoid is because of his distrust towards the Thought Police and their method of constant monitoring to expose people of heresy. Although Winston was paranoid, he learned that he needs to be alert, aware of his surroundings, and always make sure no one from the Party is following him. Both the Thought Police and the NSA have great impacts on the citizens in their society and surveil people which conclusively leads to the

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