Quotation:

"Big Brother is watching you."

From the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949). In this novel, Big Brother is the supreme dictator of Oceania, a totalitarian state where "the Party" has total power over the people in its quest to perpetuate itself. In this society, everyone is under constant surveillance by the authorities, and people are reminded of this endlessly by the catch-phrase "Big Brother is watching you".

Since Nineteen Eighty-Four was published, the term "Big Brother" has become synonymous with overly-controlling authorities, organizations and governments.

George Orwell (1903-50) English author

Contributor: Josef Essberger