Example research essay topic: Nineteen Eighty Four Four Legs Good Two Legs - 1,651 words

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h 2 >George Orwell: The Callous Nature of Totalitarianism The establishment of an elite power in a society produces feelings of hopelessness and fear. George Orwell, a world-renowned poet and author is known for his politically influenced works regarding socialism. In Animal Farm, Orwell creates a satire based on the communist regime in Russia from 19171943. The animals seeking freedom under their liberators the Pigs, revolt against their oppressive owner, Farmer Jones.

Ironically, after the revolution the Pigs, lead by Napoleon become the oppressors. Orwell's most influential novel Nineteen Eighty-Four describes a society under totalitarian control. The dictatorship of Big Brother and his Party in Oceania rule over the population with rigid laws and a distinct hierarchy of social position. Winston Smith, a blue-collar Outer Party member is secretly discontent with his life. When he begins to rebel against the Party he is found out, brutally forced to rehabilitate and required to conform to their ideals. In both novels, the authorities use their power to gain their own prestige at the expense of others; the government control of the population, poor treatment of the working class and the disallowance of basic needs illustrate the destructiveness of totalitarian government.

The government control of the population on Animal Farm is manipulative and brutal. For instance, the Pigs use songs to control the thoughts of the other animals. The Pigs teach, all the humbler animals the maxim FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS Battle sheep developed a great liking for the maxim and would start bleating for hours on end (Orwell a 22). Initially, the Pigs lead all the animals to believe that anything on four legs is a friend and anything on two, namely humans are the enemy. However, later on when the Pigs gain more power, they inform the animals that they will start trading with humans and change the song to, Four legs good, two legs better the time the sheep had quieted down the chance to utter any protest had passed (Orwell a 89). The animals are angry that the Pigs want to start trading with the supposed enemy but the Pigs take advantage of the stupidity of the sheep and use their over whelming singing and bleating to drown out any opposition.

The Pigs use songs to negatively influence the thoughts of the other animals. Moreover, the Pigs establish basic slogans that are the basis of the original rebellion against Farmer Jones. These seven commandments serve as a reminder of what the animals fought for; they also serve to enforce morals and values amongst the community. Sadly, the Pigs begin to change the commandments as they acquire further dominance. Northrop Frye comments, At each stage of this receding revolution, one of the seven principles of the original rebellion becomes corrupted, so that no animal shall kill any other animal has added to it the words without cause Eventually there is only one principle left, modified to all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others, as Animal Farm, its name has changed back to Manor Farm, and is welcomed into the community of human farms again after its neighbors have realized that it makes its lower animals work harder on less food than any other farm, so that the model workers republic becomes a model of exploited labor. (Bloom 9) Frye imparts the degradation of the once promising revolution.

The principles that once distinguish the animals on Animal Farm from those on neighboring farms have been tainted. The Pigs change the commandments according to their needs and when the animals realize this, it is too late and the Pigs join the domineering humans, further enslaving the animals. Furthermore, when keeping order on Animal Farm became increasingly difficult, the leader of the Pigs, Napoleon trained young dogs to become a vicious disciplinary force. At a meeting where Napoleon abolishes the animal anthem Beasts of England, four young porkers begin to protests and, suddenly the dogs sitting round Napoleon let out deep, menacing growls, and then the Pigs fell silent and sat down again (Orwell a 36). Napoleon uses the dogs to intimidate those with opinions contrary to his own.

Eventually, the four young Pigs are mangled by the dogs because Napoleon declares them traitors. Napoleon uses the dogs to instill his laws and if the other animals do not agree, they are executed. The animals eventually disregard the idea of gaining freedom as they become further restrained by the Pigs lies and abuses. Likewise, the government control of the population in Oceania is heavily influenced by propaganda and ill treatment.

Similarly, instead of songs, the government introduces a new language called Newspeak to influence the thoughts of its population. Roy Harris notes, The Newspeak of Nineteen Eighty-Four is a deliberately distorted language, designed to ensure the political enslavement of its speakers. Its aim, as Orwell describes it, is that thoughts not approved by the Party should be literally unthinkable (Bloom 114). Harris communicates Orwell's central message of Newspeak, which is to ultimately control the thoughts of the population. By controlling language, Newspeak limits the usage of many words in the English language. In essence purging a persons choice of words eliminates an individuals thoughts and feelings.

The government of Oceania uses newspeak to eliminate any thoughts of rebellion amongst its population. In contrast, the slogans of the Party are already corrupt. The slogan of the governments Ministry of Truth, where all government and public documents are modified is, WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH (Orwell b 29). Unlike the Pigs who alter their principles to suit their wishes, the fundamentally corrupt principles of the Party remain unchanged. The government masks their corruption as the norm and the population accepts it as the truth because they have no other basis of comparison.

Similarly, the disciplinary force also controls the behavior of the population right down to their thoughts. The Thought Police keeps the citizens in a constant state of fear. Winston Smith holds a great fear of the Thought Police, Only the thought Police mattered there was no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate, they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to.

You had to live-did live, from habit that became instinct-in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized. (Orwell b 4) The reputation of the Thought Police and the possibility of being watched at all times keeps the population of Oceania in check. The sincerity of the Oceania government is slanderous and results in the brainwashing of the population. The treatment of the animals on Animal Farm is degrading and unfair. For instance, the animals that are not pigs or dogs are labeled manual laborers.

The elite of the Pigs immediately arrogate privileges to themselves. They become supervisors, while the other animals, with the sole anti collectivist, the cat, do the work. The Pigs are united against the other animals in defending their rights (Woodcock 196). Woodcock conveys that after the revolution the Pigs establish themselves as the leaders, which allows them certain privileges.

The Pigs are responsible for creating ideas while the rest of the animals are obliged to make the ideas happen. The lives of the animals are not their own; they are told of changes that will be made but their input is not welcome. The animals know of all the atrocities committed by the Pigs yet are unable to do anything about it. In the end, the Pigs are no better then the human owners that the animals fought to be liberated. Moreover, the Pigs in Napoleons Party do not have to work hard to gain power and maintain his regime. It was often assumed that the Pigs, were so clever that they could think of a way round every difficulty the pigs directed and supervised the others.

With their superior knowledge it was natural that they should assume the leadership (Orwell a 17). The animals accept that the Pigs are the smartest, which easily allows the Pigs to take advantage of them. Since it is natural that the Pigs possess the most intelligence, the animals never mount viable opposition to contest against the Pigs rule. In effect, the Pigs are escalated to an undeserving superior position. Furthermore, the Pigs encourage the animals to become literate, but many do not have the ability to remember the alphabet. However, the young Pigs are given instruction while the few animals that can read are not allowed to develop the skill.

It was announced that school room would be built for the young pigs and given instruction by Napoleon himself they were discouraged from playing with the other young animals (Orwell a 76). The Pigs no matter if they can read or write are given the opportunity to better themselves with the building of a schoolhouse while the other animals are left in ignorance. With the education of the piglets the Pigs are preparing a new generation to rule over the rest of the farm animals. The Pigs use the animals for their own benefit and dispel any chance of a prosperous future. Comparably, the government of Oceania has no regard for the interests of its working class.

Unlike the lesser animals, the Proletarian class holds the manual labor jobs in Oceania but still enjoys some minor liberties. Philip Rate explains the proletariat as, a role that puts it outside politics. In Oceania the workers, known as the Proles, are assigned to the task of production, deprived of all political rights, but unlike the Party members, are otherwise left alone and even permitted to lead private lives in accordance with their own choice (B...

Research essay sample on Nineteen Eighty Four Four Legs Good Two Legs