In “1984” George Orwell depicts the grim and oppressive environment where Winston lives. Firstly, the residents of the apartment are under constant surveillance. The streets Winston peeks out through the window draw a parallel with the conditions of the apartment. Overall, from the first 2 pages of the novel, we get an idea that the population is deprived of privacy and is constantly controlled mentally.
The government restrains people’s actions by installing objects like posters and telescreens in places that are easily accessible. The poster of Big Brother is largely significant in the society. The picture is located on every floor and it is described as “too large for indoor display”. Orwell describes the poster as “one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about”. The eyes always follow the viewer like a stalker and they are posted almost everywhere in the apartment. These eyes make the person in the apartment feel as if he is under the eyes of an omnipotent being, and thus gets a psychological uneasiness. People can’t do anything that goes against their conscience. Everyone in the building is deprived of privacy. By using the always-watching eye, Orwell metaphorically portrays God who is always watching over the population. By making the poster “too large for indoor display”, the effect of the poster is amplified. By filling the apartment with these posters, the inhabitants feel possessed by Big Brother – the government.
To make things worse, there are screens that monitor every movement and thought. Manipulated information is constantly thrown at the population non-stop. Orwell says that, “the telescreen could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely”. Objects that make life efficient and easy (electricity, elevator) are taken away from people while tools of propaganda cannot even be shut off. It is ironic that an instrument of comfort and entertainment, the television, is used as something to brainwash...