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The Theme Of Abuse Of Privacy In 1984 George Orwell

1086 Words5 Pages

The Abuse of Surveillance; The Obsolescence of Privacy Throughout the duration of 1984, the character Winston endures a journey where he develops contrasting feelings towards the government of INGSOC. Winston spends the majority of the novel pulling away from this society and secretly rebelling. However, the true power of the government is shown when they use their tactics upon Winston and convert his beliefs towards Big Brother. George Orwell develops a world in which the totalitarian government, INGSOC, dominates over a selected group of people called the Outer Party by stripping their privacy away and destroying the idea of individuality by eliminating ones right to identity.
The technology depicted in 1984 creates an altered state …show more content…

There are very few times when Winston feels entirely alone, and "[i]t was not till twenty-three hours, when he was home and in bed—in the darkness, where you were safe even from the telescreen so long as you kept silent—that he was able to think continuously" (Orwell 109). Winston has to keep up a flawless image during his time in public or within the presence of a Telescreen. Therefore, nighttime is Winston's safe space to let his thoughts wander and think about anything. The government aims to limit thought to the bare minimum so they can prevent any ideas against the Party. The fear created in Oceania by constant supervision reduces uprisings and contrasting beliefs. INGSOC wants the Outer Party to feel as if they are frequently being watched so that they do not try anything irregular. Another parallel between the characters Winston and Offred is their decided times of safety. Offred used nighttime as her own time to think about her past memories, being as she is supposed to erase that time of her life and move on. Offred can display emotions during nighttime and process her remembrances, just as Winston can use the nighttime to comprehend his thoughts. The Thought Police serve as another device to inflict terror within Oceania, "the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time [...] in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard" (Orwell 3). This furthers the concept that INGSOC forms various embodiments, such as the Thought Police, to restrict the Outer Party from defying them. They construct these barriers to exhibit the limitations and boundaries of living as a member of the Outer Party. The Thought Police will eradicate any threats posed towards the Party and erase them fully. Offred faced similar challenges as Winston concerning her version of the

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Winston Smith is not crazy, nevertheless, he lets himself be brainwashed by Ingsoc. Ingsoc, the ruling political party in 1984, controls its population through by brainwashing its citizens and using brutal fear tactics, forcing its people into submission, like Winston Smith, an inhabitant of Oceania. For example, one of the principles of the party is that Ingsoc and its leader, Big Brother, have always existed and will always exist. This ideal contradicts Winston’s direct memory of a time before Oceania, even so, Winston lies to himself and never forces himself to face the truth. The truth is a side-thought to Winston, which ultimately leads him to be caught by the Thought Police.

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