ipl-logo

Examples Of Manipulation In 1984 By George Orwell

2001 Words9 Pages

Manipulation Through Psychology
Imagine a life where surveillance has taken over the world. A life where no one has the ability to say anything or go anywhere without being overheard or seen. This surveillance puts a stop to any form of trust people have ever had and eventually ruins the original ideas of society. Everyone is, often unknowingly, being tracked by the government for safety reasons. Through surveillance, the government controls its citizens. The control turns into manipulation when the government, over time, will convince citizens to believe that everything is being done the right way. George Orwell is an English author of the novel called 1984: a novel about a dystopian world where everyday citizens are unknowingly being psychologically …show more content…

Unfortunately, when caught by the Thought Police, it is too late to change past actions. There are many different possibilities of the torture that follows when caught, but it mentally changes people too. The Party’s dominion over its citizens manifests from the psychological manipulation affecting their lives.
The surveillance embeds a continual sense of fear. Winston and Julia first meet up with each other in the woods, far away from where they could be caught. When they see each other, Julia says to him, “I didn’t want to say anything in the lane, - in case there’s a mike hidden there. - There’s always the chance of one of those swine recognizing your voice. We’re all right here” (Orwell 119). After she says this, Winston asks, “We’re all right here?” (Orwell 119). Winston asks this to assure himself that there is no chance of anyone watching them. Considering that what they are doing is dangerous, they cannot take the risk of not being completely sure of their safety. Even in a place such as these woods, there could be a mike hidden …show more content…

The article called “‘Big Brother’ Can Watch Us” is written by Daniel J. Power, a correspondent at the Department of Management at the University of Northern Iowa. It relates surveillance and Big Brother to the modern world. Power states that “the ‘Big Brother’ telescreens are two way video and voice devices. Perhaps facial recognition software with artificial intelligence could monitor the nuances of a person’s behaviour and infer their thoughts” (Power). Big Brother represents the modern-day NSA by using its large databases to track every citizen. It even goes as far as being able to monitor what someone is thinking. The Party puts microphones and telescreens everywhere in the novel but being able to see what a person is thinking is taking it to the next level. People can use facial expressions to reference the emotion they emit, but it is hard to figure out what someone’s exact thoughts are. Just like in the novel, our own government can go as far as to monitor others so precisely, that they could get a general idea of what they are thinking. The tracking lets the Party control each citizen, putting a stop to regular marriage, and making it almost impossible to oppose who is in charge. The lack of control that this gives the lower people stops them from dreaming of anything outside of their

Show More
Related
716 Words | 3 Pages

Big Brother’s main focus is to maintain power of the citizens. Big Brother is so power hungry that he uses the Thought Police, citizens who can “read their minds” and know if other citizens are thinking of rebelling, to control the citizens. Telescreens, a television with a camera in it, are set up throughout the town and in the homes of the citizens. This way, Big Brother has total control over their lives. Sometimes, Big Brother hides telescreens in the house to spy on people more.

Read More
796 Words | 4 Pages

In this novel, the government has complete control over its people and what they do. They have control over communication, the misuse of entertainment to keep people distracted, and they have constant surveillance on them too. People are consistently being spied on by others in the society and by an automaton called the mechanical hound. The

Read More
877 Words | 4 Pages

Also, the Party collects data, like thoughts and action, and uses that information to control the people. In 1984, Winston and almost all of the characters in the book car fully monitor their actions and filter their thoughts in order to keep out of the Party's deadly gaze. "There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment" (15). When one consciously knows that he or she is being watched at any given moment, one would at least try to do what the watcher wants to see to avoid any consequences that may occur due to their actions. By doing this, the government has total control over the people.

Read More
434 Words | 2 Pages

They have methods of monitoring people that are set up so that, hypothetically, the Party could be watching them at all times. This panoptical nature of society is what inspired the common slogan plastered on posters around Oceania, “Big Brother is watching you” (Huxley 3). If someone is caught doing something that goes against the Party’s ideology, or even just thinking it, they are taken by the Thought Police and

Read More
1162 Words | 5 Pages

In 1984, thoughts against the government are dangerous because they can lead to individuality. Moreover, a collaboration of ideas against the government is a threat as it could have the possibility of an increase in rebellious ideas. Therefore, the Party uses different methods of control such as Big Brother, double-think, etc to cause the society to fear monger so the upper classes could maintain control and hierarchical power. For example, the Party implants the concept of ‘thought crime’ into people’s minds, so people can not even properly think for themselves or else they will get vaporized. This causes the characters to suspect others as no one is truly safe if they report it to the Party.

Read More
718 Words | 3 Pages

Orwell states, “If somehow you could cheat the telescreen and get him alone” (pg. 14). The telescreen is used as a symbol to represent the party’s motto that “Big Brother is always watching”. The telescreen is a perfect representation of the manipulation within the party. The party wants to be able to control everything going on and the only way they can do that is if they are able to see everything that is going on. The telescreen is like a security camera in a store.

Read More
919 Words | 4 Pages

In the beginning of the book, while Winston was rebelling with thoughtcrime, he wished for more and Julia gave this to him. Winston described their intimacy as a “political act” against the party, because Julia gave Winston hope for a better future and more rebellion (Orwell 126). Without that, Winston had nothing and in return the party had nothing over Winston. In the end, his relationship with Julia is what kept him going. Winston described Julia as being “inside him” and part of “the texture of his skin”

Read More
1533 Words | 7 Pages

Winston, and all the citizens of Oceania, are constantly surveilled even in their homes. Winston is only able to conceal the evidence by sitting in an alcove in his flat that is not in the direct line of sight of the government’s surveillance camera and telescreen. He is further able to hide the fact that he does have memory recall by being mindful of how he communicates with others and his facial

Read More
446 Words | 2 Pages

Although the lack of a strong government may cause havoc within the country, an overwhelming abundance of governmental power will lead to the oppression of citizens, whether it be by law or from society. 1984 starts off with an explanation as to how the government attempts to take control of the minds and bodies of its citizens, through a wide variety of methods. One prominent example of the government attempting to regulate the mental state of people is the Thought Police, who uses technology, such as the telescreen, to invade the privacy of the country 's residents.

Read More
1204 Words | 5 Pages

Before receiving this letter, he hated her for being so perfect however upon finding she was actually one of the only people to preserve her self-hood, he felt all his hatred turn to exhilaration. Julia wasn't as passionate over political ideas which didn't influence her directly, she felt comfortable expressing herself where telescreens were turned backward and microphones far from reach. Having more experience in sneaking out and hiding from the watchful eye, she leads the way, slowly making Winston accept the reality he denied all these

Read More
1503 Words | 7 Pages

Telescreens helped The Party in stripping away society’s individualism, taking away all types of freedom. By implanting these devices into citizens’ homes, The Party succeeds in molding society into exactly what they wanted it to be. As Orwell states, there was no way of knowing when the Thought Police were watching or not. They could be looking at any moment, ready to vaporize and convert people back to the well-trained Party members that they were before. Big Brother utilizes this method to convince society

Read More
956 Words | 4 Pages

People have to live in constant fear of being recorded even in private. Abel explains that government surveillance has “‘invaded the sacred precincts of private and domestic life’” (Abel 4). People no longer feel the sense of privacy that they used to feel before the government installed millions of surveillance cameras all over the country. Similar to Abel, Leong found that government surveillance has limited people’s privacy because it tracks people based on their racial and religious groups and discriminates against them.

Read More
870 Words | 4 Pages

Government Manipulation in 1984 People generally rely on the government as a source of protection and stability. However, the government does not always have the citizens’ best interests in mind, as shown in 1984. The government has the power to distort realities and the ability to detect the truth. They can manipulate, or influence people’s minds without them even knowing. George Orwell’s 1984 uses a futuristic dystopia to show how the government is able to manipulate human values through the use of fear.

Read More
790 Words | 4 Pages

Thought Police, Thought Crime, and Face Crime gave great examples of the topic of psychological manipulation that occurred in the novel. The illusion that nowhere remained safe to live a private life and one’s self being watched was given by these topics. This made the citizens of Oceania scared to show what they truly felt about the government or the society itself or even local things that happen. The citizens then did not want to question anything in fear of

Read More
1343 Words | 6 Pages

“Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. Asleep or awake, working or eating, indoors or out of doors, in the bath or in bed - no escape. Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimetres inside your skull” (Orwell, 25). This depiction of absolute oppression by George Orwell in his novel 1984 is his idea of the future in a totalitarian dystopian world where there is no freedom, fairness and everyone is completely brainwashed. Similarly, the government in Terry Gilliams movie Brazil control and monitor their citizens, oppressing them to the point they are afraid to have a disloyal thought about their government, reminiscent of thought crime.

Read More

More about Examples Of Manipulation In 1984 By George Orwell

Related Topics

Open Document