PROMPT: 

What side of the debate around the limits of free speech would Orwell be 
on? Prove it with evidence from ​1984​, the Paideia articles, and your Paideia 
research. 
 
 
On the debate revolving around the limits of free speech, Orwell would be against
limiting free speech. Orwell would be against limiting anything. In his novel, 1984, Orwell
creates totalitarian government that controls every aspect of everyone’s lives in Oceania. The
government, also known as The Party, is always in control of what you do, what you say, what
you think, where you work, who you associate yourself with, and what you eat. The Party has so
much power and control over media that Oceanians are forced to question even their memories.
“And so it was with every class of recorded fact, great or small. Everything faded away into a
shadow-world in which, finally, even the date of the year had become uncertain” (Orwell 41).
Orwell created 1984 as a warning to demonstrate to people what life would be like if the
government had full control of our lives. Throughout the book, the phrase “Big Brother is
watching you” is constantly repeated in order to emphasize how much control the government
has. The Thought Police are constantly watching you as well. Even in the private, the Thought
Police and hear and see you. One of the may rules is that your television can never be turned off.
That is how the people of Oceania are constantly observed. If you were to disobey this rule, or
any of the rules you would be tortured or sent to a labor-camp. By creating this world, Orwell
illustrates how people would be miserable living in constant fear of doing the wrong thing and
being punished for it. If we were to have limited speech, we would also live in constant fear of
saying the wrong thing and being punished for it. By definition, freedom of speech is the right to
express any opinions without censorship or restraint. If we were to be limited, we would only be
able to express certain opinions about certain things and we would constant have in mind how
someone else may take what we say. Orwell is against that situation occurring.
As I’ve stated before, Orwell was sending a message when he wrote 1984. He wanted to
warn people what life would be like if the government had control of everything we do as The
Party did in Oceania. The people of Oceania lived in constant fear of being caught doing the
wrong thing. If that were to happen in the real world our reactions would not be so different.
Imagine having someone constantly watch you. Not only that, but being reminded that someone
is watching you. “Big Brother is watching you” is posted everywhere in order to remind you.