Comparing Orwell's 1984 'And Is Big Brother Still Watching?'

Have you ever felt like you were being watched and constantly listened to? Do you believe everything you hear? Has fear ever kept you from doing something? George Orwell’s book, 1984, describes a society that conforms to rules in fear of “Big Brother” watching them. The 21st century is similar to Orwell’s 1984 because of technology, distorting facts, and fear tactics.

Big Brother knows everything everyone is doing. George Orwell wrote this book as his prediction as what he thought the world would become and he may have been right. The more technology advances the more your actions are being monitored. From reading Nineteen Eighty-Four to reading articles about surveillance, I’ve realized our society is becoming more and more similar to the dystopian society that is Oceania. Part II:

In the novel 1984, George Orwell sets up a world whose citizens are forever under surveillance by the party. This forever surveillance and policy is illustrated through the concept of “Big Brother”, and the phrase “Big Brother is watching you”, which is continuous throughout the novel. This expression is advertized inside and out of Oceania as a remembrance to the citizens that they are being scrutinized. The Citizens of Oceania give into being observed out of fear of the party. In the real word, people are giving up their personal freedoms, and privacy allowing government surveillance to grow. The real word does not see this as a fear, but as a benefit. People are so consumed with the benefits and the convenience that technology has provided,

In 1984, Big Brother was always watching you, Big Brother as in the government. Technology in the book was advanced for the time period it was written it, but now it has become a reality. Winston, the protagonist explains how he feels no safer in the country than in the city because although there were not any telescreens around, there could always be microphones hidden and listening to every word he says (Orwell 67). The surveillance on American citizens today has become extremely more in depth. Beginning with the street lights, they may seem as a vital tool for drivers and pedestrians but they are now being implanted with technology that is intrusive to citizens’ privacy.

Although modern societies such as the United States today do not surveil its citizen to this extent, Orwell accurately described the role and importance of surveillance in today’s society. Orwell’s ominous warnings about government round-the-clock surveillance were not far

“1984” and Technology Surveillance Technology is one of the most essential and powerful part of human life, it makes life much easier and fast. However, if technology is misused could lead to endangerment of human life. In the book “1984” by George Orwell describes a society in constant surveillance and control by their government. The government in “1984” uses technology as a tool of surveillance to control and maintain its power, thereby, making its citizens who wants a free and individual life frustrated as their dreams seems impossible to accomplish. Technology surveillance was also used to spread propaganda and read the minds of the people.

Big Brother controls everything that happens in the 1984 world, and so does the National Security Agency. Big Brother tapped into telescreens, personal lives, health, and even thoughts. Citizens in modern day America are constantly being watched by the NSA through their

Edward Snowden, a traitor in the past and hero in the present, once said: “I can't in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building”. The mass surveillance and data collecting done by the government exposed by Snowden in 2013 has stirred up discussion in the public about the government, technology, and privacy. The amount of control and power achievable using technology can be seen in George Orwell’s novel 1984. The mass use of technology is detrimental to the society in 1984 because it enabled the government too much control over an individual's access to communication, emotions, and actions; ultimately, the totalitarian rule over society using technology has made it

One might say that Orwell’s warnings are not valid in societies today but Orwell's warnings about surveillance are certainly valid in today's societies and communities especially with new laws that have been set, the habit to accommodate and settle that humans struggle with, and with the astonishing advances in technology towards surveillance, these are some of the reasons that still make Orwell’s warnings towards surveillance valid in today's world.

Contrastingly, in George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984," the government's pervasive surveillance and control epitomize the misuse of power and

However, with this picture in mind, the novel continues to be an image of a future totalitarian society—even with the fall of the Soviet Union. In the United States, fears of an uncontrollable, insatiable government dominating every aspect of life have been prevalent since the founding of the nation. New questions continue to arise over government control, and 1984 stands as a chilling picture of total control. One of the major debates today in American politics is the use of surveillance for the security of the nation. Orwell addresses this very issue in the novel through the Party’s use of telescreens. In the first description of the telescreens he writes, “The instrument could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely…The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously…It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time” (Orwell, 1984 6). The Party’s dominating technology allows them to continually be watching members in such a way that independent thought is not possible. On a smaller scale, the U.S. government’s surveillance of the people has increased since 9/11. The question then becomes how much freedom are citizens willing to sacrifice for safety and peace of mind? Orwell paints a picture of what happens when citizens allow total domination of their privacy. As the issue of surveillance versus privacy continues to be discussed in American politics, 1984 remains a pertinent point in the conversation due to its

Surveillance is one of many topics that Orwell’s 1984 incorporates into its fictional tale of a robotic society held under the strong grasp of a totalitarian government. Orwell wrote the novel in 1949 prophesizing the future that he saw down the road in 1984. The totalitarian state of government control monitors and supervises all that happens in Oceania. Oceania is Orwell’s imaginary state of the future that he uses to depict what he sees the world turning out to be. The Party, a representation of future governing bodies, controls all that happens in Oceania. Orwell references the dictatorial figure of the Party as Big Brother.

Today’s society is predicted as living in a world George Orwell envisioned in 1984. The system Orwell invented is compared to what the United States government is capable of doing. Government control of society is an essential subject due to the current mind set of the world today. In 1984, George Orwell represents how Big Brother is compared to today’s government, showing the consequences and dangers of a government with unlimited surveillance power.

1984, a novel by George Orwell, represents a dystopian society in which the people of Oceania are surveilled by the government almost all the time and have no freedoms. Today, citizens of the United States and other countries are watched in a similar way. Though different technological and personal ways of keeping watch on society than 1984, today’s government is also able to monitor most aspects of the people’s life. 1984 might be a dystopian society, but today’s condition seems to be moving towards that controlling state, where the citizens are surveilled by the government at all times.

George Orwell’s book 1984 is the gift that keeps on giving for those that find dissent with their government. This book paints a bleak picture of a totalitarian government that lies to, spies on and generally abuses its citizens. “The themes in this novel have become a major part of modern culture, as have terms such as big brother and doublespeak” (Staff Writers, 2010). We even have a show on American television called “Big Brother” where contestants are watched and scrutinized by cameras that are mounted throughout the living space.