The government was able to control the very actions of its people by the use of telescreens. Telescreens were in every room of every home and on the streets. These screens allowed for the government to constantly watch and hear every sound or move someone made and, indeed, every movement was scrutinized. One morning, while doing his “Physical Jerks,” Winston was not putting forth good effort, and the instructor over the telescreen ordered him to do better (Orwell 34). This provides evidence that there were people watching at every moment, and one must do as one was told.

“I do not believe that the kind of society I describe necessarily will arrive, but I believe that something resembling it could arrive. I believe also that totalitarian ideas have taken root in the minds of intellectuals everywhere, and I have tried to draw these ideas out to their logical consequences. The scene of the book is laid in Britain in order to emphasize (sic.) that the English-speaking races are not innately better than anyone else and that totalitarianism, if not fought against, could triumph anywhere” (Bloom’s Notes 30).

Through the use of literary devices such as imagery, Orwell portrayed the environment around Winston quite vividly. Orwell appealed to every sense to bring the reader into the story and to portray the almost limitless control a totalitarian government might obtain. For example, the government named everything “Victory,” including Victory Gin, Victory Coffee, and Victory Cigarettes. The items, however, were anything but a victory. Winston explained that, “The Victory Gin tastes like nitric acid and after swallowing, one had the sensation of being hit on the back of the head with a rubber club”

The idea of limiting what words are allowed to be used in society is clearly with us in this era of “political correctness.” There are words that the government and society have virtually outlawed. This attempt to eliminate words that may “hurt someone’s feelings,” is another way of doing what Orwell described in his novel. Orwell repeatedly warned against destroying words and phrases in a language but that appears to be just what today’s society is, in fact, doing. Thus, we, in the twenty-first century, appear to have failed to heed Orwell’s repeated warnings about the destruction of our language.

The only questions that are left to be answered are, how long will it be before another government will try to take control, and will they succeed where others have failed?

The “Victory Mansion“, in which Winston lived, likewise was not what one would expect. The “Mansion” was simply an apartment building with several floors. “The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats” (6). The lifts were seldom working, and the electric was cut off during daylight hours (5). The government again had control over the very places in which a person dwelt. Houses were old and broken, but to fix them would require funds, and the government was not about to fix every home in the country. Thus, Winston lived in squalid, dirty conditions due to government neglect and inaction. Yet, another warning Orwell presented to his readers.

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