Examples Of Manipulation In 1984 By George Orwell

Manipulation Through Psychology

Imagine a life where surveillance has taken over the world. A life where no one has the ability to say anything or go anywhere without being overheard or seen. This surveillance puts a stop to any form of trust people have ever had and eventually ruins the original ideas of society. Everyone is, often unknowingly, being tracked by the government for safety reasons. Through surveillance, the government controls its citizens. The control turns into manipulation when the government, over time, will convince citizens to believe that everything is being done the right way. George Orwell is an English author of the novel called 1984: a novel about a dystopian world where everyday citizens are unknowingly being psychologically

Unfortunately, when caught by the Thought Police, it is too late to change past actions. There are many different possibilities of the torture that follows when caught, but it mentally changes people too. The Party’s dominion over its citizens manifests from the psychological manipulation affecting their lives.

The surveillance embeds a continual sense of fear. Winston and Julia first meet up with each other in the woods, far away from where they could be caught. When they see each other, Julia says to him, “I didn’t want to say anything in the lane, - in case there’s a mike hidden there. - There’s always the chance of one of those swine recognizing your voice. We’re all right here” (Orwell 119). After she says this, Winston asks, “We’re all right here?” (Orwell 119). Winston asks this to assure himself that there is no chance of anyone watching them. Considering that what they are doing is dangerous, they cannot take the risk of not being completely sure of their safety. Even in a place such as these woods, there could be a mike hidden

The article called “‘Big Brother’ Can Watch Us” is written by Daniel J. Power, a correspondent at the Department of Management at the University of Northern Iowa. It relates surveillance and Big Brother to the modern world. Power states that “the ‘Big Brother’ telescreens are two way video and voice devices. Perhaps facial recognition software with artificial intelligence could monitor the nuances of a person’s behaviour and infer their thoughts” (Power). Big Brother represents the modern-day NSA by using its large databases to track every citizen. It even goes as far as being able to monitor what someone is thinking. The Party puts microphones and telescreens everywhere in the novel but being able to see what a person is thinking is taking it to the next level. People can use facial expressions to reference the emotion they emit, but it is hard to figure out what someone’s exact thoughts are. Just like in the novel, our own government can go as far as to monitor others so precisely, that they could get a general idea of what they are thinking. The tracking lets the Party control each citizen, putting a stop to regular marriage, and making it almost impossible to oppose who is in charge. The lack of control that this gives the lower people stops them from dreaming of anything outside of their