The Use Of Privacy In George Orwell's 1984

806 Words4 Pages
Attention all citizens! The government is watching your every single move. They know all your passwords, emails, and phone numbers. Your privacy is being invaded! Destroy every piece of technology you own and stand up against those attempting to dictate our lives! The U.S. government is invading the privacy of its’ citizens through the use of mobile devices such as phones and laptops. This use of privacy invasion is similar to the technology used in George Orwell’s novel 1984. What makes today relate to 1984 is how the government tracks us through location, voice, and messaging. George Orwell’s 1984 has a totalitarian government that can track its’ citizens through location with the use of telescreens. In the novel, telescreens can track your location in a room through a telescreen, which is demonstrated by Winston´s thought ¨so long as you remained within the field of vision … you could be seen¨ (Orwell, page 3). No one should have to live their lives being watched over by someone they don’t know like the government. Another quote shows that Winston needed “to conceal his agitation from the telescreen” (Orwell, page 108). The statement implies the need to hide emotions from an eye watching over a citizen. In the totalitarian government, people have to abide by the rules, in this case he can’t feel different emotions like anger. This shows how privacy is being violated in Orwell’s novel. The novel’s use of totalitarian government is relevant in today’s government use of