1984 Privacy

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What if an author wrote a novel about the future? Well, in the book 1984 by George Orwell, he predicts that eventually the government will be able to hear and see everything you are doing. 1984 takes place in futuristic London, England(Airstrip One). George Orwell refers to this place as Oceania which is the chief city of Airstip One. Winston Smith is the main character and we see many technologies that he has to hide from so he can rebel from the party in a group called the brotherhood. One technology used by the party is the telescreen, it works by spying on citizens and what they are doing. Another technology used by the party is, microphones. The listen in on citizens to ensure no one is speaking against the party. The final technology used by the party is The Two Minutes Hate. This technology is used to make sure no one is not thinking for themselves but rather everyone is thinking as one unit. Telescreens, Microphones and The Two Minutes Hate are three …show more content…
The telescreen is used to monitor the activity of a citizen to make sure that he/she is not acting against the party or Big Brother. The telescreen helps to make one’s actions the same in public as in private. In this quote we see the importance privacy in our lives while Winston is just trying to get privacy in a small part of his. “By sitting in the alcove, and keeping well back, Winston was able to remain outside the range of the telescreen, so far as sight went.” (Orwell 6). This shows that Winston is normally unable to escape the vision of the telescreen in his room. The telescreen in 1984 is a great reason why modern day governments should not be watching citizens every move. The United States Constitution states that every person has the right to have their own privacy in their person, house, papers and effects. It is completely unethical for the Government or Party to be snooping around in your own

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