Actual Essay- Lack of Privacy

Question 1

Part 1

1984 and Stasiland portray a lack of privacy as a psychologically destructive force …

Answer 1

1984 and Stasiland portray a lack of privacy
to be psychologically destructive towards individuals living in a totalitarian state.

In 1984 it leads to individuals being in a constant state of fear, whereas in Stasiland it humiliates them and leaves them vulnerable. In Orwell’s dystopian world, “nothing was your own except the few cubic centimetres inside your skull.”

Question 2

Part 2

This forces Winston and other Party members to constantly…

Answer 2

This forces Winston and other Party members to constantly monitor their actions and live in terror as showing even the slightest “twitch” would indicate that they are not fervent Party supporters.

This consistent state of anxiety is palpable through Winston’s “frail figure” and Mrs Parson’s “grey hair.” Society has been “systematically” conditioned into this perpetual state of paranoia and fear that their bodies are deteriorating from it.

Question 3

Part 3

Funder paints a similar picture of constant..

Answer 3

Funder paints a similar picture of constant scrutiny being damaging as Julia asserts that “the total surveillance damaged [me] the worst.”

This damage however was not only due to the fear she felt, but due to the humiliation. After Major N reads her love letters she feels so exposed and dehumanised that she retreats from society and becomes a “hermit crab.”

Question 4

Part 4

Humiliation is not shown to be a consequence..

Answer 4

Humiliation is not shown to be a consequence of a lack of privacy in Oceania as the society in 1984 is too dehumanised for individuals to place importance on the judgements of their personal affairs.

A lack of privacy is shown to have devastating consequences on people’s wellbeing in despotic societies; in 1984 due to the terror, which arises from it, and in Stasiland due to the dehumanisation felt by its victims.