Analysis Of George Orwell 's ' 1984 ' Essay

Freedom, one of mankind’s many desires, is often given up for security from enemies. One of the principles of Ingsoc throughout 1984, “Freedom is slavery,” plays a key role in helping the citizens realize that without the Party protecting them, they would be enslaved. In George Orwell’s, 1984, freedom is close to non-existent due to the fact that the citizens gave up their freedom for security from Eurasia, Eastasia, and rebels. The citizens do this by letting the Party watch their actions through telescreens, letting the Party control the way they think and act, and by controlling what citizens view as past and present. With the invention of the telescreen, citizens give up their freedom by letting the Party watch their every action and word. One example is when, “Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it” (Orwell 3). When the government can hear everything citizens are saying, they have no freedom of speech. This is evident through Orwell stating that the telescreens can pick up almost everything someone says. Another example of this is in the quote, “The instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely” (Orwell 2). This quote shows that the Party has 24-hour surveillance of its citizens. This not only takes away their freedom of speech, but also their privacy. Lastly, Orwell shows the control of the telescreens when he says, “It was terribly dangerous to let…