1984 & Animal Farm - 1/16/21

 Hello Free Thinkers, 

(I'm a bit early for week 3, but the next book I'm reading while interesting is pretty heavy so I'm taking my time and enjoying it). 

Week 3: 1984 (10/10)

Week 3: Animal Farm (10/10)

Premise: 1984 - Orwell hates totalitarianism

Premise: Animal Farm - Orwell makes fun of the Soviet Union  

I'm up to my eyes in George Orwell this week, feeling superior to others because I understand the allegories and metaphors obviously only I understand.... Okay I'm sure I missed a lot of subtle stuff and not so subtle stuff. But still, they are amazing books, there is a reason they are so popular 70 years after being published. Plus they have some of my favorite quotes ever. 

1984 - I could write multiple papers on why I love this novel so much. But I won't bore you. 

Winston Smith, worked for the government of Oceania. Think Nazi's in The Man in High Castle or the entire government in The Handmaids Tale. Everyone had TV's in their houses that watched and listened to them constantly (kinda like North Korea's radios). Winston worked in a department that "corrected mistakes" that had been printed. Big Brother (the ruler) had said there wouldn't be a deduction in rations and but then there were? No it was a misprint, Winston or someone else in his department would correct it. If someone was killed by the government, all traces of their names wiped from the paper. Etc etc etc. The government didn't make mistakes. 

One of the biggest tells to Winston that government actually does make mistakes is Oceania is constantly at war with one of two other super powers. It switches back and forth every couple years, the government covers it up, saying they never changed who they were fighting. Why most of the population doesn't seem to notice, Winston always does... Pretty smart of him right? Winston spends the beginning of the book with a slight air of superiority believing he's better than everyone else because he doesn't buy into everything. Then one day another government employee slips him a note saying "I love you". Pretty impressive since they barely know each other. But hey, Winston finally has a chance to rebel against the man so he is all on board. Cause while there are "no" laws, there are definitely unwritten rules that everyone knows, and any hanky panky (or any romantic stuff really) is forbidden outside of marriage. 

Julia (the "I love you note") girl and Winston fall into a whirlwind romance. Sneaking moments away rebelling against the man (Big Brother). They try to join the resistance against their totalitarian government, but woah is them, they get caught. Tortured Winston still holds onto his love for Julia and hate of Big Brother. His hate for Big Brother actually saves him, the government doesn't want to kill him until he falls under their spell. 

Eventually he is pushed to the breaking point and he cries out, saying to not torture him, but instead Julia. And soon after he is let go, back into society. Now after everything he's been through Winston Loves Big Brother. 

Now obviously I skipped some major plot points, along with a ton of nuanced stuff. Orwell is undoubtedly a master of his craft. I highly recommend this book to anyone who hasn't. And please remember if you're reading this and you think "Man that's exactly like Democrats/Republicans" you are completely missing the point. 

Now onto Animal Farm! 

Animal Farm is a shorter but no less clever work by George Orwell. It's a bit more straight forward then 1984, and in some ways I think it hits deeper because of that. 

So let's dive right in. Some farm animals live on a farm (duh), and the farmer is a drunkard. They don't like him. So they decide let's take over the farm. They chase the farmer away, and then the fun begins. 

The pigs are the smartest animals on the farm. They learn to read and come up with a set of rules. 7 rules are put upon the barn wall. Other animals learn to read as well, but none besides the pig and donkey are very good at it. A chant of "4 Legs Good, 2 Legs Bad" is often chanted throughout this book. 

Soon enough the Farmer and some farm hands come back to the farm to try to reclaim it. The animals beat them off. "4 Legs Good, 2 Legs Bad". Soon enough the pigs decide to work with one human so they can sell stuff on the farm and get supplies in return. So life on the farm goes on. Soon the rules on the barn door start changing, just enough that the pigs can get away with taking on comforts that the other animals don't have. The pigs live in the farm house, sleep on the beds, drink alcohol, all of which were originally banned. However the rules are changed just enough (unbeknownst to the more dim farm animals) to let the pigs get away with it. 

Another skirmish, more rules changed to suit the pigs. Time goes on. Eventually the pigs learn to walk on two legs and wearing clothes. "4 Legs Good, 2 Legs Better"... The seven rules have changed a lot over time. Now only one remains "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others". The last seen of the book the pigs are eating with humans at the table in the farm house, and the farm animals looking in are having trouble telling the difference between the pigs and men. 

And That's Orwell for you. I suggest reading his works if you haven't. They are engrossing, fascinating, and if you're anything like me you feel a bit smug for having read and enjoyed them. 

I am currently reading "Thank you for Arguing"

and remember dear readers, Stay Vivid.