Examples Of Technology In 1984 By George Orwell

1984’s Society: A Dystopian Look into Technology

Modern-day society and technology are very closely tied together, as society’s infrastructure is majorly built off of technology. However, technology can be the catalyst for tyranny, able to control human society. Through his recurring use of plot, symbolism, and characterization, George Orwell demonstrates this possibility in his pressing novel, 1984, where technology allows this dystopian society to be utterly totalitarian. Technology can be used to control through its ability to consistently present information to society in a collective manner. Orwell used some specialized points of plot to illustrate this influential ability of technology, as shown by his creation of the omnipresent telescreens

Orwell used certain technological symbols to represent the totalitarian aspects of the dystopian society he created. For example, aerial vehicles are used to keep watch of the citizens of Oceania. “In the far distance a helicopter skimmed down between the roofs, hovered for an instant like a bluebottle, and darted away again with a curving flight. It was the police patrol, snooping into people’s windows” (Orwell 4). This patrol helicopter was a small symbol to represent the extreme surveillance of this society, however, its proximity to the beginning of the story helped construct the idea of the constant watch that the people of Oceania experienced, which controlled their actions or behaviors. Even when there were no telescreens or aerial vehicles, certain microphones could also be hidden or concealed in some places, which could hear and recognize voices (Orwell). These microphones allow the authorities of Oceania to always keep track of their people, and because of the lack of telescreens, could especially catch lawbreakers in their acts. And when lawbreakers are seized, they are put under a further restricted watch than before. “... he slipped a hand into his pocket… ‘6079 Smith W.! Hands out of pockets in the cells!’” (Orwell 280). The telescreens in the jail cells were constantly surveilling their respective prisoners, and it allowed for such extensive control of a prisoner to the point where their whole body was restricted, as Winston was forced to remove his hands from his pockets by a human voice that the telescreen transmitted, and also informed the anonymous voice that Winston had put his hands in his pockets. The concept of technology permitting reign over society is agreed upon by Harold Bloom, who stated “We have gone further in the technological developments that would make the novel's tyranny even more feasible” (Bloom). He finds that technology is only becoming