George Orwell’s contemporary works of 1984 and Animal Farm, describes two examples of totalitarian government systems. I would argue that the government systems described in these books are a reflection of what the people that were colonized felt. The people oppressed in the colonial periods under Great Britain always had its army present in its colonies, as well as the monitoring and regulation of people and resources. The significance of these works of literature is that they show the severity of power upon the colonizing power instead of the colonies and those that occupy them. Animal Farm is a story that relates very closely to real history. Orwell wrote Animal Farm to explain to children the complex history of the totalitarian government of Soviet Russia, led by Joseph Stalin. What appears to be a small farm filled with the cute familiar animals that typically reside within a farm, easily are seen as the real cast of characters that were involved in the Bolshevik Revolution. Linked is the whole list of characters to their relateable real live people: http://site.iugaza.edu.ps/sbreem/files/2012/03/animalfarm.htm In 1984, Orwell describes what used to be England, now called Airstrip One, which is of a larger state of Oceania. The whole story is about Winston, a propaganda officer for the Ministry of Truth. The government is referred to as The Party, which is ruled by Big Brother. Big Brother is called such because it acts so to watch over the citizenry and to keep them in line with what Big Brother feels is best at the time. Big Brother also speaks to its citizens in what is called “Doublespeak,” which is to speak in what we would call a contradiction. This is where a lot of the manipulation that Big Brother does over the people of Airstrip One can be seen. An example of this manipulation would be Ministry of Truth, which actually pumps out propaganda as a means of justifying the actions of Big Brother. The Ministry of Peace is actually the section that declares wars, and Ministry of Plenty plans economic shortages. A large quote in Doublespeak is: “War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery Ignorance is Strength.” (Orwell, 1984) These contradictory statements are made to break down language and keep the citizens docile and unable to organize and rebel against the state. The most severe form of control The Party has is “thought crimes”. These crimes are a means to control the population of Airstrip One. To look at it in a basic sense, a thought crime is committed when a person of Airstrip One thinks freely for themselves. Controlling what one thinks is the one of the most effective ways of control over a group of people. When one cannot think for themselves, they are just an ignorant sheep following the voice of Big Brother. This is also seen in colonial England when those who sought freedom had to hide their intentions in order to not be punished for treason. “” The colonies under Great Britain, mostly Africa and India, were ruled so swiftly because of how well organized the British were and how independent and spread the colonial nation’s citizens were. It is difficult to truly know the extent of damage done, because of a majority of the history in question was written by the victors, Great Britain. Concerns about this have stewed between Britain and India before and well since Indian Independence. Assistant Professor of History Ruchika Sharma at Gargi College, Delhi University puts it this way: "They don’t talk about the colonial textbooks, it should be taught as part of the history because after all, it is their history. It's also about acknowledging their past and learning about their ex-colonies. Denial is the worst thing," https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/5-Ways-the-British-Empire-Ruthlessly-Exploited-India-20170425-0033.html The only difference between 1984 and British history is that Britain was pressured to give up its colonies, due to the changing times of more independent nations as well as the economic drain the colonies became. The Party in 1984 seems to be unstoppable because of it’s crushing weight on its citizens to remain conforming to their rule. Totalitarianism:https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHZL_enUS756US756&biw=1536&bih=706&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=TlYNXaiOI8SEtQWSlovwBw&q=totalitarianism&oq=Totalitarian&gs_l=img.1.0.0l10.17278.57534..59329...14.0..3.227.5873.16j41j1......0....1..gws-wiz-img.....0..35i39j0i67.eBh3CMvnQ1Q#imgrc=7xS04Go9aPBYOM:
BritishColonial:https://www.google.com/search?q=british+colonialism+images&rlz=1C1CHZL_enUS756US756&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjtlIqQzPviAhVKgK0KHWNvDH8Q_AUIECgB&biw=1536&bih=754&dpr=1.25#imgrc=goS-fGa_ovz5uM:
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