1984- Animal Farm, A Comparision ( Short) Essay, Research Paper
Bob Edwards Comparisons between 1984, Animal Farm Both 1984 and Animal Farm were composed by George Orwell as satires on the political systems during his time. Both books are based upon great dictators of the 20th century, and their corresponding countries. Animal Farm is almost a direct parody of the Russian Revolution. (See below for comparisons. 1984 bears resemblance to a world run by Hitler and Mussolini with a dash of Stalin thrown in, but is more based on Fascist Germany and Italy of the 1930’s and 40’s. Animal Farm begins with a sense of idyllic peace, typical of the high-class life in pre-revolution Russia. When the revolution is orchestrated by the pigs, and Farmer Jones is overthrown and his reign of diabolical tyranny is over. And so the story evolves into the parody, a rather humorous look at the on goings of the Revolution. Every animal in the yard is a straight copy, or copy of an idea from the Russian Revolution. Old Major, who teaches the animal Animalism, is like Marx, with his ideas. The character also dies before the revolution starts. Farmer Jones is like Czar Nicholas Two, kind, yet cruel and hard at the same time. Snowball is Leon Trotsky, a young, idealistic man who winds up fleeing the revolution. Napoleon is obviously Stalin, cruel, not nearly as intelligent as Snowball and as a final injustice, he uses his power to control the other animals. In 1984 there is a strict control and rule over the general populace, revolution and free thinking being destroyed in the hearts of the people, through a combination of Doublethink and destroying the language that could convey such feelings as rebellion and freedom. Winston is stuck in a society where he feels like rebelling, but cannot grasp what he is feeling, and cannot come to terms with it. He looks upon the proles, those who have little, yet are happy, in a way that he cannot yet understand. This society is the ultimate personification of Fascism, a society that has no freedom and is constantly at war with another portion of the world.
The two books bear extensive resemblance to each other. In both books characters are forced to work hard at something, that yet the do not understand why this is being thrust upon them (Windmill and Newspeak). It is more prominent in Animal Farm, the idea that power corrupts, and ultimate power corrupts ultimately. This happens to the pigs, as eventually they turn into the masters they had once stroven to overthrow. This is the ultimate form of corruption. One of the main points in 1984 is Doublethink, the concept of being able to hold two contradicting ideas in your head at once, yet you place faith unquestionably in both of them. Animal Farm utilizes this ideology as well, as it is shown in the ++volution’ of the rules when the pigs change them to suit their own needs, to the point where the animals aren’t totally sure what to believe anymore. In conclusion, both books share similar traits in their basic storylines in some parts, despite the difference in their main ideas. They both describe a first-hand look inside the world of the dictators of this century, from the faults that came with their rise to power as dictators, to how they ruthlessly handled the running of their countries.