Compare And Contrast Anthem And 1984

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Both Anthem and 1984 have oppressive atmospheres. The civilians of both stories are cruelly controlled by their perspective governments. Neither group of people has any rights to privacy, feelings (that are not closely tied to the party in control), or freedom. They live and die doing their government’s bidding. Both protagonists Winston and Equality 7-2521 are rebelling against their governments. From the outset, both characters know that they are eventually going to be captured, tortured, and then executed by their governments. Winston is rebelling because he was born before The Party came into power, and he vaguely remembered a life where people had better lives and more rights. Equality 7-2521 is rebelling because he is …show more content…

Equality believes that he entered into a pact with the criminal and decided to go on a personal crusade to restore individualism to his world. Equality is also intelligent, he invents electricity and the light bulb. Equality however, has to get the invention approved by the world council. If the invention is discovered before the approval, Equality is subject to execution and his invention destroyed. Winston and Equality are two characters obsessed with the past and history in general, they both would like to know how the world worked before their parties took control. Winston in particular is obsessed with the past predating the party and Big Brother. Winston has memories of the past, but he remembers them only vaguely and they are just beyond his grasp. Equality is also interested in the past, but in a more narrow way than Winston. Equality simply just wants to know about the individualism of the past, and how those views can enhance his own ideals. In Winston’s world, there is no privacy. The party that governs oceania has surveillance everywhere on the streets and in people’s homes. The party even has the thought police; a

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