Abby Rowland

9/16/14
Period 4
Watching and Waiting
In light of the National Security Agencys growing surveillance of the common
people in America, it has become clear that our nation is not as far off from George Orwells
1984 as it may seem. In the United States, security cameras watch peoples every move.
Cell phone calls are recorded and stored in a database. Those who show any sign of being
guilty of a crime are taken by the police for questioning. 1984 follows Winston Smith
through his realization of the evil in his totalitarian society called Oceania. The government,
Winston learns, exerts its control through a variety of methods. These include language
censorship, hate riots, propaganda posters, endless monitoring, and the Thought Police. No
one can voice his or her opinion for fear of being discovered and eliminated. Traitors are
caught, parents are turned in by their children, and no one is really safe. In simple terms,
the eavesdropping on citizens of the United States is similar to the constant monitoring of
residents in George Orwells 1984, in the type of surveillance, the people carrying it out,
and the reason why citizens are being watched in the first place.
In both the United States and Oceania, the residents are watched and listened to
through various means of surveillance. In the United States, security cameras can be found
in almost any location that isnt the privacy of a familys home. Theyre at malls, banks,
airports, and even some restaurants. The other well-known method at present is telephone
tapping, or wiretapping. This is the term associated with government agencies listening in
to and recording phone conversations, usually without the callers knowing. Our
government can also have access to e-mails... financial and travel records... text messages,
[and] cellphone location data (Harris 1). In 1984, it is much the same, except to a greater

extent. Oceania is a nation that runs almost solely on surveillance. Eyes watch people
wherever they go and the Thought Police could be anywhere, waiting. The telescreen
received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made... would be
picked up by it... he could be seen as well as heard (Orwell 6). Like in the U.S., the
government receives almost full access to everyones information and actions.
Another similarity is that in both the United States and Oceania it is the government
that is conducting the surveillance. In the U.S, it is the President who decides which people
should be watched and listened to, and which shouldnt. In 2012, President George W.
Bush authorized the N.S.A. to monitor the communications records of Americans who
analysts suspected had a nexus to terrorism (Harris 1). The Thought Police in 1984 are
the exaggerated versions of the N.S.A. They watch the people because the powerful leader,
in this case Big Brother, told them to. All over Oceania there are posters that read, Big
Brother is Watching You (Orwell 5). Although there are no posters in the United States
claiming that the N.S.A. is watching, they are. Theyve said as much, just as Big Brother has.
The reasons for such spying are also the same for both the United States and
Oceania. In the United States it has been directly stated that the reason for thorough
surveillance is to [avoid] transactions associated with terrorist plots (Harris 1).
Monitoring of the people is even more extensive after the terrorist attacks on September
11, 2001. In Oceania, it is inferred that avoiding terrorists, rebels, and traitors of Big
Brother do not succeed in causing national upheaval. Thoughtcime, they called it.
Thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concealed forever (Orwell 19), Winston recalls
after writing a forbidden thought down in his diary. By telling the people that they can be
caught for thinking the wrong thing, Big Brother is able to avoid rebellion and keep order.

The United States and Oceania both spy on their people to make sure their people dont
turn against them.
The citizens of the United States and George Orwells Oceania are under constant
monitoring by similar methods of surveillance ordered by the government for the stated
purpose of avoiding terrorism and rebellion. It is clear from these similarities that the
United States, or any nation of people, is in danger of slipping toward totalitarianism when
they justify the use of surveillance. Getting this point across was most likely one of the
intentions of George Orwell when he wrote 1984. It should give the citizens of the United
States pause to realize that any type of government surveillance can be misused against its
citizens, just as the endless monitoring of residents in 1984 takes away the peoples
freedom of speech and expression.

Works Cited
Harris, Shane. "Giving In to the Surveillance State." New York Times [Washington DC] 22 Aug.
2012: 1-3. Print.
Orwell, George. 1984. N.p.: Penguin Group, 1949. Print.