Differences And Conflicts In George Orwell's Animal Farm

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The two general criticisms previously discussed display the similarities between intellectuals of multiple nationalities and time periods. However, the question arises as to what differences there are based on these factors. Really the idea that they differ relates back to Saxonberg’s claim that intellectuals’ dissent partially reflected shifts in audience taste. The idea is that tastes would differ according to what nation and time the audience lived in. As a result, it is expected that there would be differences dependent on the nationalities and time periods the intellectuals’ literature is meant to reflect. Despite this, there have been no studies addressing this notion or attempting to prove it. Consequently, this comparison study …show more content…

Orwell’s critiques reflect those of the Russian intellectuals, particularly in the claim that the communist state possesses a disregard for life. This is most evident in Boxer’s death as it is inferred that Squealer’s truth was indeed false given the money that the pigs somehow got for whiskey. This means that Boxer was sold to a horse slaughterer and glue boiler for profit instead of taken to a veterinarian as promised. Therefore, Orwell suggests that the communist state is more concerned with making a profit than its relationship with the individuals it governs. Like with the Russian intellectuals, Orwell suggests that the relationship between the communist state and the individual is a negative due to its preference for money over the individuals’ lives. Consequently, the Russian and British intellectuals share a focus in their critiques: the individual’s negative and harmful relationship to the communist …show more content…

In “The Power of the Powerless,” Havel explicitly states this with the claim that “what we have here is simply another form of the consumer and industrial society.” He extends this claim by stating that communist society maintains “the omnipresent dictatorship of consumption, production, advertising, commerce, consumer culture.” By making this critique, Havel argues that communist society is like capitalist society as it is also obsessed with production and consumption. Hrabel’s Too Loud a Solitude displays this through Hanta’s interactions with the Brigade of Socialist Labor. Hanta’s observations of the Brigade show a focus on consumerism as they are given frequent vacations for increasing their production. This validates Havel’s critique by demonstrating the motivation of consumption and emphasis on production under communism. However, it is not always effective, as Hanta proves when he attempts to increase production for a vacation but is still removed from his job in favor of the Brigade workers. In the end, the workers that remain are the ones who produce the most and are the most motivated by consumption. In summary, Havel and Hrabel are the only ones to present the critique that communism is just another form of consumer and industrial society, thus making this a focus unique to

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