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Anxiety In 1984

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The anxiety-provoking novel 1984 written by George Orwell was published in 1949. The book forecasts Orwell’s nightmarish vision of an extreme society in which people are thoroughly oppressed and controlled by the government, known as the Party. The far reaching tentacles of the Party render the populace virtually incapable of distinguishing between falsifications and the truth. Since rebellion is quickly quashed, apathy has taken over. The protagonist, Winston Smith, is one of the few who does not allow the wool to be pulled over his eyes. He cannot fathom the people’s willingness to swallow every lie without question. To survive, he must conform, at least outwardly; yet he cannot bring himself to submit his mind to the Party line. …show more content…

It takes Orwell less than a page to envelop the reader into a dystopian world of constant threats and omnipresent surveillance. The reader is given immediate access into Winston’s bleak and lonely life. We meet Winston on his way home form work, and instantly see the world through his eyes. Since his building’s elevator is out of order, Winston much scale seven flights to his apartment. At each landing, he is greeted by identical larger-than-life posters depicting a fearsome man warning that “Big Brother is Watching You” - as if Winston needs reminding. As he enters his flat, a devise with no off button called a telescreen infiltrates Winston’s privacy. The telescreen is a two-way audiovisual device that receives Winston’s every movement and sound while transmitting whatever the Party desires to broadcast, 24/7. Through this device “every sound you made was overheard . . . and every movement scrutinized.“ (3) There is simply no sanctuary beyond the sight and sound of the Party. We glimpse Winston’s courage and defiance as he retreats to a small alcove of his apartment out of sight of the telescreen and pulls out what will become his diary. The mere act of possessing a book such as this let alone recording a personal journal “was not illegal (nothing was illegal since there were no laws), but if detected it was reasonably certain that it would be punished by death, or at least by twenty-five years in a forced labor

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The telescreens operated as both televisions and security cameras and microphones and through them, Party members are able to hear if someone says something bad about the Party, which could result in death. He finds small ways to rebel against the Party, instead of completely overthrowing it, because he simply does not agree with their ruling. Owning a journal was illegal, but Winston owned one because he feels like he should not keep his feelings inside of himself, and chooses to write them down in a place where no one will look. Many of his thoughts and feelings surrounded Big Brother, his hate for it, and wanting to rebel. Many times in the journal, Winston had printed “in large, neat capitals, DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER”(18, Orwell).

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The leader of the Party is known as Big Brother. He is one of the only people that can see that they might be in a better place if they were free, and he illegally buys a diary to record his thoughts. However, this is difficult to do, as the leaders attempt to monitor people’s every move through mandatory telescreens, a device that they can monitor your every move and send messages. Thoughtcrime is one of the biggest crimes, and this is what Winston commits, but gets away with it for quite some time. Winston works at the Ministry of Truth, which alters records for the leaders.

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