1984 And Animal Farm Essay

Corruption happens in today's world but not to the extent of George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm. In both 1984 and Animal Farm, George Orwell writes about corrupted governments and the oppression of their citizens. The novels have a grim overall message about government and the hold that leaders have have on their people. Orwell warns that those who achieve total power will inevitably become corrupt and the lower class is unable or unwilling to overthrow those in power.

The governments in both novels remove those with independent thoughts. In 1984, Big Brother will vaporize or try to change the way of thinking of all people that believe in anything that he deems wrong. Big Brother does this to create, what he believes to be, a pure society.

In 1984, Big Brother changes past events when he sees necessary and he changes it to anything he sees fit. “Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street has been renamed, every date has been altered...History has stopped” (1984 155). The people of Oceania only know as much as the government tells them and the government only tells them the things that increase the power of Big Brother. Winston’s job is to change history for Big Brother, ironically history is changed in the Ministry Of Truth. For example, Winston will go through newspapers and photos and delete people the government has killed so it looks like they never existed. Similarity, in Animal Farm, Napoleon has Squealer change the Seven Commandments so he can live a life of luxury. Squealer says, “You did not suppose, surely, that there was ever a ruling against beds? A bed merely means a place to sleep in. The ruling was against sheets” (Animal Farm 80). When Old Major made the Seven Commandments one of the original Commandments said that the animals could not sleep in beds. Napoleon wants to sleep in a bed so he orders Squealer to change the Commandment so it prohibits sleeping on a bed with sheets instead of just sleeping on a bed. This happens in different variations throughout the novel and increases the authority Napoleon has