The Role Of The Telescreens In 1984 By George Orwell

The ability to speak, think, and act however one desires is freedom. With a government being able to see and control what it’s citizens are doing, moral corruption will seep its way into the hearts of people. One will constantly be conflicted between whether to abide to the government or to act accordingly to how they want. Freedom is a natural human desire, and humankind will do anything to achieve it. When stripped from freedom, humans will ultimately be virtually the same as one another, leaving individuality from one another impossible to form. Without the right to privacy, freedom will, without a doubt, cease to exist. One’s privacy is the main aspect of freedom because it limits a government’s power and control. With total control
Within the story, Winston exposes how the telescreens “received and transmitted simultaneously”(). The telescreens were used in order to broadcast and listen in to conversations between Party members, which prevents instances of rebellion, according to Big Brother. The telescreen is able to pick up “any sound Winston made,” and “above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it” (). The citizens of Oceania have to live knowing that their every action and their every word is being monitored by Big Brother, and if they are not careful in what they say or do, there could be deadly consequences. Winston is aware of the Telescreens and their purpose, and decides to keep his back turned it when writing in his diary because he knows that if the Party found out, he would have to face cruel punishments. Although he attempts to keep his acts of rebellion hidden from the Party and the telescreen, even he knew “a back can be revealing”(). Citizens have to dictate their actions wisely because “There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment” (). The Party is strict with how they want their citizens to act and think, and anything that goes against their rules will result in unwanted outcomes. The use
Through manipulation, an individual is rejected their free will, and they cannot do as they please. For instance, an individual cannot even remember specific events in history: “For how could you establish even the most obvious fact when there existed no record outside your own memory” (). Winston is aware of Big Brother and how the government is trying to control every citizen’s lives. This controlling of citizens and their actions causes them to question whether or not their memories are even true since “Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimeters inside your skull” (). Faith must be put in Big Brother by the citizens because they were promised protection; however, in return, this faith in the government causes mankind to be in constant wonder about the truth. Since the citizens have been constantly fed lies by Big Brother, the truth is never revealed, and they are forced to believe the lies told by the government: “In the Party histories, of course, Big Brother figured as the leader and guardian of the Revolution since its very earliest days” (). Big Brother continuously tells its people that they are the guardian and savior of all life, so the citizens are forced to continue to put faith in Big Brother; however, there is a realization