Big Question

The big question I will be considering for my George Orwell essay will be:

“Should mankind strive for a utopian society?”

Both works examine societies that once aimed for some form of a utopia.  However, the evidence of their failure is overwhelming and the toll it has taken on the inhabitants is evident.

In the allegorical novel Animal Farm, the animals drove out Mr. Jones in an attempt to give themselves a better life.  However, things went awry after the pigs seized power and the laws on which they built their new nation were altered, much like the shift from Communist ideals to the dictatorship that occurred in the Soviet Union.  Instead of a better life, the animals on the farm were forced to work longer hours with reduced rations.  On top of that, they were lied to by their own government.

In 1984, Winston Smith fights the oppression he finds under the leadership of Big Brother and the Party.  In this novel, the dystopian society has already sunk into the depths of terror and despair.  Escaping the watchful eye of Big Brother is impossible as he presses into every aspect of people’s lives-work, home, love, knowledge, etc.  Perhaps the most terrifying aspect of the society is the hopelessness of rebellion.  One cannot even express themselves because even the children are spies created by Big Brother.  Simply thinking of rebellion is a punishable crime.