Topic > The use of surveillance to control people in 1984 by George Orwel

George Orwell wrote his novel 1984 and showed what the world will become if the government is taken over by totalitarian leaders. In 1984, the government's attempts to control the people are demonstrated. In the novel the Oceanians, who were in the Party, had only one truth; the Party and the leader, Big Brother, are always right. The novel highlights the different methods used by the government to manipulate and control people. One of these ways 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 telescreens, running a thought police, and teaching kids to spy on their parents. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay First, the government placed telescreens 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 it.” Winston is the main character in the book who had anti-party thoughts. He hates the party because he understands that they control the people. Winston also hates being watched all the time and not being able to express his thoughts. Winston was afraid to open his diary which was legal, but if they noticed that he was writing rebellious thoughts in the diary, he would be punished by death or 25 years in a labor camp. He was against the party's totalitarian system. However, Winston knew that he was too powerless to face the leader of the party, Big Brother. Winston was always in a panic when he wrote down his thoughts. The telescreens showed what he was doing, and if they had seen and wanted to check, Winston would have appeared in horrible condition. The group could also hear what they were talking about; therefore, Winston could not even talk about his rebellious thoughts with his lover, Julia, with whom he was having an illegal love affair. The privacy of the people in the novel has been completely violated; not only could they not be alone for even a minute, but they were also incapable of having relationships. Secondly, 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 involve death: thoughtcrime is death” (Orwell 30). I thought the police were catching those who commit crimes in their heads. That is to say, by looking at the expressions on people's faces they arrested them and punished them with death. Winston once even thought that Julia was an agent of the Thought Police who had come to discover his thought crime. The thought police were everywhere, following people, noticing their gestures and signs of thought crimes. This was so terrifying to Winston that he showed no facial expression. Every day a Thought Police spy was unmasked while capturing a thought criminal. People never know who may be a member of the Police; as a result, they don't trust anyone. Personal relationships were not only prohibited, but were also punishable by law. The Thought Police were the main system that people were afraid of, because they seemed to read people's minds. Third, the Party was training children to spy on their parents and report thought crimes in families. One day, while Winston was helping his neighbor by fixing the sink, the neighbor's children aggressively accused Winston of being a criminal. Winston thought, “It was somehow a little scary, like puppy gambling.