In his books, Animal Farm and 1984, George Orwell creates two similar societies
attempting to achieve perfection through tyranny but the environment of each
supports a different culture. In both Animal Farm and 1984 the ruling society
depresses the individual in order to achieve his total obedience. In Animal Farm
the environment is static – that of a rigid society- that of a small space
-for it is in a farm. Because it is so simple, so undeveloped technology wise, a
different society immerges, a society more similar to that of today, then to
that of the other book, 1984. In 1984, the government controls the individual
technology wise. It uses technology in order to watch everything the individual
does, so the individual will not rebel and that society will maintain the way it
is – the way it supposed to be - technology controlled (Tarnoff online). Right
at the beginning of 1984, Orwell presents the reader with how much the
government controls and supervises what the individual does. On the first page
he describes a poster with a men’s picture on it, and a caption underneath –
“Big Brother Is Watching You”. That shows how the government tries to
intimidate the people in order for the people to listen to them and do as the
government tells them to (Orwell, 1984 5). In Animal Farm the pigs, which
control the farm, use another method to achieve the same result. When the
animals were working on the windmill Napoleon, the “leader”, announced that
there will be work on Sunday, off course he said that it will be strictly
voluntary, but, who ever does not “volunteer” will have his rations reduced
by half. It does not matter how, but in both 1984 and Animal Farm, the leaders
use some kind of oppression to control the individual whether it is fear of
hunger or fear of violating the law (Orwell, Animal Farm 63). The environment of
each book is quite different. In Animal Farm it is a farm, and that creates a
society which is easy to control because there is less space and less places to
go to. It was easier for the pigs to control and supervise the animals. That way
they had control over all the animals, so any animal that wanted to get away
from the totalitarianism that controlled the farm the pigs knew about it and
dealt with it appropriately. For example – when the three hens come forward
and “admit” that snowball came to them in a dream – they are slaughtered.
As Harold Bloom said in his book, this is “an obvious parallel to the purge
trials of the 1930’s…” (18). In 1984, George Orwell opens us to a
futuristic society where technology controls everything. At the beginning of the
book Orwell describes a “telescreen” – a kind of television screen that
makes it possible for the government to see, and supervise everything the
individual is doing. That is the way the government indicates how powerful they
really are, and that they can see and hear everything a person does. Mainly
because of that technology, the government finds out about Winston Smith’
affair with Julia and about his rebellious thoughts against the government.
Because of those thoughts he is tortured so much, that eventually he gives up
his personal freedom and his love to Julia. In his book William Steinhoff say
that after he is tortured so much, Winston is cut off from past and future and
his conscience extinguishes when he cries to the torturers to send the rats to
Julia – “Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia! I don’t care what
you do to her!”(Orwell, 1984 236). - He also says that Winston is bullied so
much, beaten so much, tortured so much, that he is reduced to a statues below
that of an animal. That would never have happened if technology were not used in
such a cruel, intimidating way. It created a society where people are afraid of
technology, of the people who created it, of the government, of big brother
(210).