Kruhlyakov 1 Oleksandr Kruhlyakov Mrs. Leger English 101 12/21/2017 Panopticism in 1984 The totalitarian society depicted in George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984, imitates the constant, interpersonal surveillance and its effects as defined by Michel Foucault’s concept of Panopticism. Panopticism is a social theory named after the Panopticon, originally developed by French philosopher Foucault in his book, Discipline and Punish. Jeremy Bentham proposed the panopticon as a circular building with an observation tower in the center of an open space surrounded by an outer wall. This wall would contain cells for occupants. Two ways of exercising power over men, of controlling their relations, of separating out their dangerous mixtures. The …show more content…
“The telescreen received and transmits simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, about the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, as long he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque was commanded, he could be seen as well as heard” (Orwell 6). In Orwell’s 1984, the surveillance is achieved by the distressing, constant presence of the telescreen. No individual was free of the thought that the vigilant telescreen would catch the citizens in some prohibited act, which would lead to unquestioned vaporization. “This enclosed, segmented space, observed at every point, in which the individuals are inserted in a fixed place, in which the slightest movements are supervised, in which all events are recorded…” (Foucault 5). The panopticon in Foucault’s essay is stressing exactly the same purpose as that of the telescreen in 1984. Simply that constant threat of punishment, but only if caught and in order to remain safe, one must constantly behave as the ideal one desires to …show more content…
He needed to stand up and tell the world his thoughts. He needed to tell individuals how corrupt Oceania surely was; however, he could not do it. He could not because of the punishment that would be waiting for him. He knew regardless of what he would say, admit, or do in defense, he would in any case be another political renegade quieted by death. He realized that political rebellion was the most extreme disobedience upon the government. All his life, he held it inside, apprehensive of its outcome. However, as he got more established