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Essay / The Use of Surveillance to Control People in George Orwel's 1984
George Orwell wrote his novel 1984 and showed what the world would become if the government was taken over by totalitarian leaders. In 1984, the government's attempts to control the people were demonstrated. In the novel, the Oceanians who were in the Party had only one truth; the Party and its leader, Big Brother, are always right. The novel highlights the different methods used by the government to manipulate and control people. One of these means was constant surveillance. The government followed every step, every breath and every thought of the party members. In fact, the government tracked Party members using TV screens, running a thought police, and teaching children to spy on their parents. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay First, the government placed TV screens in every room of party members to watch what they do, listen to what they say and understand what they think. . “Any sound made by Winston, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by him.” Winston is the main character in the book who had anti-party thoughts. He hates the party because he understands that it controls people. Winston also hates being constantly watched and not being able to express his thoughts. Winston was afraid to open his diary, which was legal, but if they noticed him writing rebellious thoughts in his diary, he would be punished with death or 25 years in a labor camp. He was against the totalitarian party system. However, Winston knew he was too helpless to take on the party's leader, The Big Brother. Winston was always in a “pinch of panic” about writing down his thoughts. The TV screens showed what he was doing, and if they saw and wanted to check, Winston would appear in a horrible state. The group could also hear what he was saying; Thus, Winston could not even discuss his rebellious thoughts with his lover, Julia, with whom he had an illegal romantic relationship. People's privacy was completely violated in the novel; Not only could they not be alone for a single minute, but they were also incapable of having relationships. Second, the greatest evidence of the lack of privacy, depicted in the novel, was that people's thoughts were controlled by the thought police. “Thoughtcrime does not bring death: thoughtcrime is death” (Orwell 30). I thought the police caught people who commit crimes in their heads. That is to say, looking at people's facial expressions, they would arrest them and punish them with death. Winston even once thought that Julia was a Thought Police agent who had come to discover his thoughtcrime. The thought police were everywhere, following people, noticing their actions and the signs indicating thought crimes. It was so terrifying to Winston that he showed no facial expression. Every day, a Thought Police spy was unmasked by catching a thought criminal. People never know who might be a member of the police; therefore, they don't trust anyone. Personal relationships were not only prohibited, but also punishable by law. The Thought Police were the main system that people feared, as they seemed to read people's minds. Third, the Party trained children to spy on their parents and report thoughtcrimes in families. One day, while Winston was helping his neighbor by fixing the sink, the neighbor's children aggressively accused Winston.