1984/animal Farm Comparison Essay, Research Paper

How would you like to be ran by a government that controlled every aspect of your life such as where you went, how you acted, what you said, and even what you thought? You would never be in total control of your own life and if you showed any signs of individuality you would simply disappear. This is what life was like for people in the book 1984. This book shows many similarities to Animal Farm. There is a totalitarian government and characters in the book Animal Farm, such as Napoleon and Squealer, can effectively be compared to Big Brother and Winston of 1984. I’ll explain to you that the two books have the same theme too; absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The society in 1984 revolves around 3 ’superstates’ which are Eurasia, Eastasia, and Oceania. All of these states are in a constant state of war with one another, yet all are self contained, and require no trade with each other. The government in Oceania is run by one leader named Big Brother and he feels that as long as a constant state of war is prevailing, the people will be too preoccupied with the war effort to worry about whether or not the political system is working. The government constantly reminds the people that when they win the war, Oceania will rule the world, and life will be better. So therefore, as long as the war is going on, there will always be peace. One point that I want to make is that Big Brother can be compared to Napoleon in Animal Farm because they are both leaders in a totalitarian government and they use any means necessary to keep people in control.

Winston is the main character in this book. He is not happy with the way his life which eventually leads to rebellion. He works for the government in the Ministry of

Truth. There are four Ministries in Oceania; the Ministry of Truth deals with the spread of the news; the Ministry of Peace – which deals with war; the Ministry of Love – which deals with punishment; and the Ministry of Plenty – that handles economic affairs. Winston’s job deals with changing the news to fit the political order at the time; which brings me to another point; Winston can be compared to Squealer being that they both change the news to keep things under control.

Big Brother becomes suspicious of Winston, and he is therefore watched by O’Brien, an executive at the Ministry of Truth who is a member of the Inner Party, which is the upper class. After a bit of casual conversation at the workplace, Winston is invited to O’Brien’s house where he tells to him his thoughts and ideas about a group of rebels called the Brotherhood. O’Brien mentions a man named Emmanuel Goldstein, who leads the brotherhood, and claims to know him. O’Brien then promises to help Winston, and promises to get him a copy of Goldstein’s book.

Julia is the final main character of the book. She is an attractive young woman who works with Winston at the Ministry of Truth. She is a member of the Outer Party. She falls in love with Winston, but never marry because of existing laws in 1984. Julia eventually learns of Winstons plans, and even helps him. But she never betrays him like O’Brien does.

Eventually, Winston is caught and taken to a place with bright underground rooms where criminals are taken to be interrogated. He is tortured, and mentally beaten so badly that by the end of the book he loves Big Brother. He can’t think a single thought without the permission of the government and he doesn’t love Julia anymore. Winston is

tortured on several different occasions, all of which are done by his “teacher” – O’Brien. Winston turns out to be a textbook case of a person reformed by the government which leads me to my final comparison; Winston, like the animals in Animal Farm, forgot everything that they had learned before. By the end of the book, Winston is mentally dead. He can’t think or act for himself, and he is just a toy of the government. He is useless to anyone and may as well be put to death, but he is kept alive.

In conclusion, the characters in Animal Farm and 1984 have similar and distinct characteristics which contribute to the theme. Big Brother and Napoleon establish a totalitarian government while Winston and Boxer are subdued by the absolute power.