Individualism In 1984 By George Orwell

George Orwell has developed a classic dystopian novel that has captivated readers for years and sparked conversations about the nature of authority, freedom, and individuality. 1984 is set in a totalitarian society of the future where individualism is restricted to having an opinion and the ruling Party has ultimate control over every aspect of residents’ life. Winston Smith, the protagonist of the book, is a member of the Party’s propaganda division who becomes suspicious of the Party’s techniques and fights against its rule. We can better comprehend the risks of totalitarianism and the value of protecting individual freedom and privacy by looking at the strategies employed by the Inner Party and their impact on people and society in 1984.

The risks of a society where the government has complete control over what information is available to the citizens are illustrated by the ruling Party’s reduction of news and media as well as its manipulation of historical records. During this period, “Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street and building has been renamed, every date has been altered” (Orwell 155). This is significant because it demonstrates how the government can alter history to fit its version of events and control what information citizens have access to. By preventing access to any material that questions the reliability of the government, the governing Party can keep control of the media and suppress the rebellion. Given that people cannot think logically or form independent ideas without access to reliable information this shows that information control is an effective tool for influencing thoughts. Citizens in this society “...did live, from habit that became instinct– in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized” (Orwell 3). This quote illustrates how widespread and comprehensive the government’s control is in the book, preventing people from even thinking or acting freely without worrying about being observed or punished.

In a world where there is no such thing as an individual's right to privacy, the dystopian future stresses what occurs. In the modern world, governments can widely monitor people through the usage of technology. “The lesson is that privacy is public…”, as Zuboff contends, demonstrating how, in the face of growing surveillance, public concern over individual privacy has grown (Zuboff). This claim resembles the main thesis of 1984, which is that privacy is nonexistent and that government surveillance on its people is constant. This is significant because it shows how the concept of privacy has fundamentally altered in a society where there is extensive government surveillance and access to every element of citizens’ life. This also demonstrates the perils of a society where personal privacy is surrendered for the greater good of the state, which confirms the portrayal of severe surveillance in the novel. To sum up, the government's use of extensive monitoring, brainwashing, and control, as depicted in 1984, emphasizes the risk of ignoring one’s privacy in favor of the interest of the state. The basic argument of the book is that there is no such thing as privacy and that governments constantly monitor their citizens which remains important in today's society. The novel serves as a cautionary story of what happens when, as a result of widespread surveillance in