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Caroline Lowcher
Ms. J. Osmon
AP Language
9/10/09
1984 Essay
Filing past the front doors of school, suddenly I come across a room filled with
televisions displaying images of familiar looking pictures- pictures of places in my school. Eyes
roving and body stiffening, I pick out numerous cameras that line the hallways, classrooms,
stairways, anywhere in the school excluding bathrooms and locker rooms. There’s a constant
hunch in the back of my mind that there’s always someone watching on the other end of the
camera seeing every move I make, everywhere I go. Winston Smith, the protagonist in 1984,
relates to this moment every second of his life. With a life dictated by a telescreen, he is never
left alone with complete privacy. At the time Orwell was writing 1984, the United States was
fighting in the Cold War against Communism. Through his novel, Orwell warns readers of
Communism. Strikingly our world is growing closer to the world of 1984 through the invasion
of personal privacy by means of technology and psychological manipulation.
Using technology, the government of Oceania pries itself into the personal privacy of its
citizens. A symbol repetitively appearing throughout the novel is the telescreen. Day and night,
at home and at work, the telescreens are always watching the citizens of Oceania. Instead of
trying to progress technology, the government in Orwell’s text uses technology for their own
good by spying on Party members: “The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously.
Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it;
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more over, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded,
he could be seen as well as heard” (Orwell 3). With the looming presence of a telescreen no one
in Oceania is ever left alone. Consequently the United States government is evolving to be more
and more totalitarian state domineering over the lives of its citizens. Within the past few years,
more and more cameras have been added to public buildings such as schools, libraries,
restaurants, and numerous other places. Cameras are going to become more technologically
advanced and will be found in buildings everywhere. The functions of a telescreen and camera
work in similar ways as they both pick up and send images. Some parents set up hidden cameras
in their homes to see what happens when they are not there. Tammy and Jeffrey Katz hired a
nanny to watch over their son, while installing a hidden video camera. They were shocked when
they watched their son being mistreated. The American’s government’s fear of terrorism may go
so far as to develop technology similar to that of the telescreens and require them to be installed
in homes across America. In Oceania there exists Thought Police who can read the thoughts of
any individual at any time. “How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on
any individual wire was guesswork… But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they
wanted to” (Orwell 3). As the Thought Police read thoughts, the United States government uses
lie detectors. Lie detectors are designed to determine whether someone is telling the truth or
lying. But have these machines been updated to tell us more than just a true or false statement?
If yes, would the government really tell the public? Another way an individual’s thoughts can be
read is by a relatively new machine that has come out that allows people with Lou Gehrig’s
disease communicate their thoughts to others. Individuals affected with Lou Gehrig’s disease
have a functioning normal brain but the rest of their body is paralyzed. The computer is hooked
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up to their brain and is controlled by brain waves. Already we have come up with technology
that can read people’s thoughts. It’s only a matter of time before the government starts abusing
technology, if they haven’t already, for personal gain rather than for the sake of the people.
In addition to technology, the Party also uses psychological manipulation to invade
people’s privacy. The Party’s control of sex, love, and marriage eliminates bonds that form
between people, whom the Party views as a threat, “…permission was always refused if the
couple concerned gave the impression of being physically attracted to one another. The only
recognized purpose of marriage was to beget children for the service of the Party” (Orwell 65).
The United States of America is becoming closer to Orwell’s government in his text by
illegalizing prostitution in most states. The government is trying to control girls selling their
bodies for money, however they can’t always be there to enforce the law. Will the government
just stop there, or will they come up with more preventative measures such as a new law that
prohibits cheating among couples? Even though the government may mean well, they could
unintentionally be doing more harm than help. Another technique of psychological manipulation
is brainwashing children to serve in an organization called the Junior Spies where they spy on
their parents and others for any hint that suggests disloyalty to the Party. Manipulating,
deceiving, and prying, Junior Spies are so dedicated to Big Brother that they’ll turn their own
parents in for thoughtcrime. “ ‘Who denounced you?’ said Winston. ‘It was my little daughter,’
said Parsons with a sort of doleful pride. ‘She listened at the keyhole. Heard what I was saying,
and nipped off to the patrols the very next day” (Orwell 233). No longer is there a special bond
between family members, the Party has taken that away. Having child spies is an ingenious idea
for government to benefit from. As children aren’t allowed to work till the age of fourteen,
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people never question the intentions of a child. Children are looked at as innocent and naïve to
the real world, and could never be thought of as an undercover spy. Not only are children
underestimated but also they are small and can fit in tight areas. As of now, using children as
spies goes against a couple of laws such as the child labor law, but the government will find a
way around this for their own advantage. In theory a child trained spy is a strategic idea that will
be used by governments of countries across the world. Through control of sex, love, and
marriage and usage of child spies, the Party uses psychological manipulation to keep itself in
power, which will be the future motivation of our own government.
In only a matter of decades the United States democratic government will become a
power hungry and controlling totalitarian state as in 1984, using technology and psychological
manipulation as a means of taking full control over individual’s lives, so that all freedom is lost
including that of an individual’s mind. Personal privacy will no longer be personal. Everyday
we see little things such as cameras roving a hall or documentaries on the latest technology that
are warning signs of future totalitarianism. These small insignificant details will add up until the
government reaches a tipping point from democratic ruling to totalitarianism. A government like
the one in Orwell’s text is threatening to countries all across the world including the United
States of America.
Works Cited:
Orwell, George. 1984. New York: New American Library, 1949.