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  • Essay / Panopticon in "Panopticon" and "1984"

    A panopticon can be used to effectively maintain surveillance of society. This, in every sense, is manipulative and coercive. As society grew, it became more and more difficult to control people and therefore other resources or mechanisms had to be used to monitor these people. In the late 18th century, Jeremy Bentham designed an architectural plan for prisons, asylums, schools, hospitals and factories and received help from an architect to put his ideas on paper. Michael Foucault, a French philosopher, conducted extensive research on the panopticons and his ideas were taken into account by future authors. Bentham's plan for prison design gained popularity because Foucault saw it as a strategic model for internalizing discipline and authority. The Panopticon, written by British young adult author Jenni Fagan, is directly related to these ideas. George Orwell's 1984 was, however, published in 1949, so we cannot say that Foucault influenced it, since the panoptic ideas were published in Discipline and Punish: The Birth of a Prison (1975). On the other hand, Bentham might have slightly influenced Orwell's writings. These panopticon ideas also come into play in today's world, and they have become a controversial topic due to modern technology that society sees as becoming increasingly invasive. Both The Panopticon and 1984 have the recurring theme of panopticism, which affects the main characters in different ways. This article aims to show the correlation between Bentham and Foucault and how the same ideas and theories influenced works written decades apart. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayThe ideas for a panopticon originally had good intentions; Jeremy Bentham created it in order to eliminate violent methods of punishment. He wanted to punish in another, more psychological form. Foucault asserted that the panopticon “reverses the principle of the dungeon.” The dungeon had “three functions: to enclose, to deprive of light and to hide; it (the panopticon) only preserves the first and eliminates the other two.” Knowledge comes from power, and the panopticon can allow authorities to see everything that is happening around them, leading them to know more. The panopticon also creates a state of constant control and causes those being observed to internalize the fact that they are always being watched. “Constant observation acted as a control mechanism; a consciousness of constant surveillance is internalized.” The Panopticon, as the title suggests, revolves around the idea that people are always being watched. Anais feels like she's part of an experiment, and she knows people are always watching her and wants to escape it. It is a novel that delves deeper into the psyche of the main character and the reader gets insight into his life and his fears. She is strong, but deals with drugs and her own imagination. Ironically, these are things you should not do when you know they are under surveillance. So that Anaïs can escape the experience and deal with her uncertainty about her origins, she seeks comfort by playing the "birthday game". By creating a life for herself, she can rely on these facts and pretend that she has a semi-normal life. On the other hand, it is a sign of resistance on the part of the panopticon, because people can see its actions, but not its thoughts. Since the novel is written from his point of view, readers can see his thoughts, so they act as the panopticon in this case. Anaïs is very skeptical about everything thatpasses around her, and was forced to grow up quickly. In the Panopticon where she lives, the watchtower leaves no privacy, which constitutes an act contrary to human rights. Being in a constant state of surveillance drives Anaïs crazy, which ultimately causes her to escape with her life. She was able to escape because the watchtower broke, “the whole surveillance window breaks, and I see them; turn their fucking tail; the experience, for a fucking split second: exposed” . At that moment, Anaïs is released and can begin her life in Paris, as she had decided during her birthday game. The last sentence of the novel is: “I begin today.” Because the windows hiding the faces of those watching her have been shattered, they are now on her level because they are real people. She has the power to escape and fight the system, and therefore becomes her own person. Orwell's novel is dystopian and reflects society as helpless and robotic. Big Brother in this case is the panopticon. Big Brother has no face, but society fears him. By using these scare tactics, they have successfully brainwashed society into permanent fear. They must maintain constant control over what they say or do because the consequences are brutal. It's impossible to trust anyone, because when Winston did, he was reported by the police. Orwell also introduces "Newspeak" into the novel, which would now be considered plain English. It is the official language of Oceania. Because the words are so simple and have no complexity, it gives people no reason to rethink the words or give them other definitions. This limits their language so that they cannot rebel against the system, which is the main reason for the language change. In addition to limiting language, it also limits personality and personal identity, which is also a method of brainwashing. Newspeak does not allow for any type of personal development, and Winston breaks that by keeping a journal. He is able to express his feelings there, but realizes that he has written "Down with big brother" several times on the page and sees that he has committed thoughtcrime. If the level of intelligence of this society had been higher, one could have realized that it would be impossible to track all the thoughts of all the members of the society, but because of the different methods of brainwashing that have been applied, no one was able to think about it. “Thought crime was not something that could be hidden forever. You might manage to dodge for a while, even years, but sooner or later they're bound to catch you. Fear is the most common tactic used by oppressive societies to stay in power. If society is afraid of the system, it will rebel against it and the oppressive state will persist. Winston is also guilty of doublethink, even though he realizes that he is. He works for the system, but secretly rebels against it. In the Ministry of Truth, the slogans "WAR IS PEACE", "FREEDOM IS SLAVERY" and "IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" are all brainwashing society. These words are antonyms of each other, and people don't realize it. While working at the Ministry of Truth, he supports these statements, but by writing in his journal and remaining secretive, he rebels against them. The difference between 1984 and The Panopticon is that the latter enjoys partial freedom. Although Winston Smith is not a prisoner and works for the party, he has less freedom than Anaïs. He has no freedom of any kind, he cannot do, say or think as he pleases, because society is a.