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1984 Government Power Essay

668 Words3 Pages

The government and its effect on society is always a controversial and frequently discussed topic amongst today’s people. Whether it is how politicians swindle peoples’ money or the various ways that the government abuses its power, people always have criticism for what they believe to be flawed. In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, the author conveys his belief that limiting the privacy of the individual is the government’s ultimate means of controlling its citizens through the wall mounted devices called telescreens as well as the brutal, and ever present though police.
The idea that the individual has no power because they have no privacy is conveyed through the existence of the telescreens. During the first description of a telescreen, the …show more content…

If it were not enough that telescreens are placed everywhere in Oceania, INGSOC finds it necessary to implant people into the masses to monitor everyone on a more personal level. So not only do people have to think or act correctly when they are alone, but also when they are around others. People walk about, conforming to the standards, sit down next to their good friend and think, “she might be an agent of the Thought Police” (Orwell 12). But they can never be sure, unless they are caught. The thought police are an omnipresent fear. Any person around could be one of their agents, and should anyone ever be caught, they are thrown in the ministry of love, where they are tortured by their captors until their minds are but a conduit for the party’s thoughts. People are in their homes, thinking that they are somewhat safe, but then they realize that “something was being dragged across the stones. The woman’s singing had stopped abruptly… and then a confusion of angry shouts which ended in yells of pain.” (Orwell 183) The Thought Police is not only another means to monitor the activities of the people, but also a terrifying example of one of the consequences of revolutionary actions or thoughts. They brutally punish those who do not conform to the maxim “Ignorance is Strength” (Orwell 7). They instill paranoia in those who are truly

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From Orwell’s novel, “1984”, it can be determined that his opinion on the most powerful means of control by the government would be the government’s use of fear to instill paranoia among the people. One powerful piece of corroboration for fear to paranoia would be Oceania’s obvious, and constant, use of technology to fulfill this goal. Take, for instance, the telescreens. Because of their existence in every buildings’ rooms and corners, they can be easily used to keep an eye on party members, and if need be, used to track their location and arrest them. Winston experiences the surveillance inflicted by the government during one of his daily workouts,as right when he stopped trying in order to ponder the conspiracies surrounding the party,

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