Power of ManipulationIn George Orwell's novel 1984, the civilians of Oceania live under Big Brother's manipulative powers that push people into extreme obedience. Big Brother is the leader of the party and the authority figure that all people obey. Being a dystopian society, numerous techniques are used to keep the population of Oceania under control. The party enforces many crude laws to prevent the people of Oceania from rebelling against the government. Above all the means to control the population of Oceania, the most effective are the telescreens because they are in the homes of every civilian and wherever they go, they monitor their every movement including their pulse, and are used to manipulate people through propaganda. Let's start with television screens, devices that find their place in the homes of every citizen of Oceania. Telescreens are used for a variety of purposes, mainly for surveillance of their daily activities. The government of Oceania fears that the people will conspire against them if they gain freedom, which is why they are limited to many personal freedoms. In the first book Orwell describes an example of how the telescreen works by stating: The telescreen receives and transmits simultaneously. Any sound Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up; furthermore, as long as it remained within the field of vision permitted by the metal plate, it could be seen as well as heard. Of course, there was no way to know if you were being watched at any given time. How many times, or with what system, the Thought Police connected to each individual cable was anyone's guess. It was also conceivable that they were watching everyone all the time. But in any case they could plug in the cable every time... half the paper... turned on. Telescreens are designed to detect a citizen's disloyalty, thus making it easier for the government to control the population. The people of Oceania live under surveillance in various ways. Propaganda broadcast through television screens, which helps the government keep people under control with strict routines. The way propaganda manages to manipulate people is by telling them to look at the television screen every day for the physical jolts in the morning and to watch the two minutes of hate. Physical sprints are morning routines that all citizens must complete and are exercises to keep the population of Oceania fit. The physical tremors indicate that the government has manipulated and controlled civilians into doing whatever Big Brother tells them to do through the telescreen. Works Cited Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Penguin Group, 1949. Print.