In the book 1984, George Orwell uses the Thought Police, telescreens, and the children to symbolize the lack of privacy that the people of Oceania have. These three things show how people like to keep a close eye on others that we do not trust. George Orwell created the Thought Police as a form of law enforcement that makes sure that people do not have any political and personal thoughts that are unapproved by the government. Having these kind of thoughts would be considered thoughtcrime which is punishable by death. When Winston arrives back at his house, he is skeptical as to whether or not he is being watched because, “There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often or on what system …show more content…
In the book, all of the citizens of Oceania have telescreens that record their activities. Big Brother, the government, wants the citizens to be loyal to them. In order to make sure, they plant telescreens in every residents’ home so that they can track their activities. After Winston returns back to his house, he recalls, “The instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely” (2). The second clause suggests that people are constantly being watched because they cannot turn it off. When Winston is about to write in his journal, “Winston kept his back turned to the telescreen. It was safer; though, as he well knew, even a back can be revealing” (3). “Even a back can be revealing” shows how close the government is watching them. The government keeps close tabs on everyone to make sure that they are loyal to the government. The telescreen is, in a sense, a security camera made only to keep track of residents. It represents the idea of privacy, or the lack of it. The government is very strict and limits the freedom and restricts the basic human needs. One of these needs is privacy, in which the government uses telescreens to spy on the citizens. The government wants to make sure that the people of Oceania are doing what the government wants. This shows how the government watches the