1984 Essay, Research Paper

In George Orwell s novel 1984, technology plays a strong role in the basic structures of a book. The most apparent piece of technology is the telescreen. These devices are setup everywhere for the use of the people s entertainment and the party s. They are objects that not only allow you to watch them and hear them like a television but in return you yourself are watched and heard by the party. They prove that the slogan of the totalitarian government Big Brother Is Watching You is true. If you are in the Outer Party or in the Inner Party, telescreens are placed to watch every move you make. However the Proles aren t observed as closely because they are considered inferior and stupid. Other ways in which privacy is taken away by technology is the use of little sound devices called Bugs. These are microphones that are positioned inconspicuously to hear what the members of the society are saying.

Technology relates heavily to the plot because it is the resource of how Big Brother is able to monitor the anti-utopian society. Winston meets a lovely girl named Julia and falls in love with her. Jointly they try to find life and happiness together, and also they want to find the resistance, or the group of people that they figured existed that will help see the end of the Party and Big Brother himself. In the search for the resistance they find Mr. Charrington s antique store in the prole area of town that supposedly has no telescreens or bugs. Unfortunately Mr. Charrington was actually one of the thought police and there was a telescreen behind a picture in the room which discovers them.

The technology also has a lot to do with the tone of the novel. Throughout 1984, Winston lives in fear and fright due to the watchful eyes of the telescreens. The mood is always suspenseful attributed to the fact that Winston and Julia seem to be retreating from the thought police at all times.

The characters are obviously effected a great deal by Big Brother s technology. Everyone in the society is brainwashed because of Big Brother s treatment of the telescreen. One example would be how the government uses the Two Minutes Hate to tell of how mighty and powerful the military is when in actuality there isn t a war that s being fought. This manipulation causes the party to control the minds of the characters in the story. All throughout the novel it tells of person after person loving Big Brother. Eventually even Julia and Winston are convinced that Big Brother is the one who they are supposed to love.

George Orwell amazingly portrayed a negative utopian world in which everyone was caught up by the strong possibility that they re being watched, and if/when they foul up, they are next in line to be vaporized. All of this can be traced back to the technology that Big Brother used. The power portrayed in this novel can only come from and be maintained by the power of surveillance of the telescreen.