1984. the telescreen

A large symbol  throughout the story of 1984 is the telescreens that seem to be in every room and in every hallway that are always watching and recording you. Telescreens are small wall mounted devices that video and audio record your movements and conversations while also playing and speaking pro Big Brother propaganda. the Telescreens are installed in every room of every building and come with rules and laws that the people have to follow. People are required to stay within view of the telescreen at all times. If someone strays away from the camera, they are arrested and interrogated for thought-crime (the crime of thinking anti-party thoughts or anti-Big Brother thoughts). Telescreens are the main way that the thought-police keep an eye on the public and ensure that they don’t permit thought crime.Telescreens are an important symbol in the story of 1984 because, to the character and especially Winston, they are a constant reminder that the party is watching them and that they no longer have the luxury of freedom. The telescreen is the symbol for the party. The telescreen and poster of the man and phrase “Big Brother is watching” that goes along with and is always next to the telescreen is the calling card and the face of the party. The telescreens represent the possibility that at any moment in Orwell’s universe, you can be arrested and either tortured or killed. the telescreens are a window for the reader into the universe of 1984. The telescreens are a reminder to Winston and the reader of the oppression of the society he lives in and the possibility that anyone you meet or converse with can be a spy for the thought-police or could be loyal and working for the party and hold your life in their hands. This unknowing creates a discomfort for Winston and the reader. that he never knows and always has to be suspicious of everyone he sees and meets. It forces him to monitor his own actions; making sure that he doesn’t think or feel anything wrong or criminalizing. This unknowing forces Winston and everyone else in the 1984 universe to live their life in fear and without friends, love, or affection. The telescreens also prove themselves to be an effective way of enforcing their laws and keeping their power. The use of telescreens causes the demise of the relationship between Winston and Julia. The telescreens are the reason that they are caught and tortured. to continue their relationship, Winston and Julia rent out an apartment seemingly without a telescreen. after time passes a voice eventually comes from behind a cloth, revealing itself to be a telescreen and the man they rented the apartment from to be a member of the thought -police. They are then arrested and after this they are tortured until they give their love to Big Brother which ceases their love for each other.