Telescreens

"The instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely." (pg. 2)

In 1984, the theme of technology as a means for evil is a prevalent theme. The telescreens are a big part of the technology by which the government controls the citizens of Oceania. Orwell wrote his novel in a time before computers, but his complicated mechanisms in the 1984 universe are way ahead of their time. They allow constant moderation of the citizens and keep them all in fear. Orwell turns technology into a tool of fear to warn the reader that anything, even something positive like innovation technology, can be used as a weapon if put into the wrong hands.