- 上一篇：金融英语词汇特点及其翻译策略
- 下一篇：修辞学角度下的女性商品广告的语言分析
The two novels, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, are often studied together as Orwell’s attack on and denouncement of the totalitarianism represented by Stalinism in the east and Fascism in the west. Ever since their publication, they were regarded as dangerous reactionary books in the east and banned in many socialist countries. While in the west, they were taken advantage of as powerful ideological weapons against socialism during the Cold War. Orwell was simply labeled as an anti-socialism writer and his works became some kind of political propaganda out of the ideological need. With the tide of Cold War subsiding, people began to take a more objective and thorough attitude towards his works, such as Lynette Hunter’s George Orwell: The Search for a Voice. Attempts were made mainly by his biographer Bernard Crick to claim that Nineteen Eighty-Four was directed as much at the west as at the east. Though mainly interpreted as political novels, perse non-political interpretation perspectives have emerged such as from the angle of literary, cultural, historical, psychological, feminism and so on as evidenced by Jeffrey Meyers’s George Orwell: the Critical Heritage. Besides, some critics turn their eyes to the use of black humor in the two books while others take interest in the fate of the members in the books. All these have provided us many channels to get further close to Orwell and his works.
Based on the research of forerunners and understanding of the author, this thesis mainly focuses on Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four with an aim to reveal the underlying connection between the two works. The comparison will mainly be made from three aspects, namely the three-tiered social structure, similar social relations, and the same means of control.
1 A Comparison of the Social Structures in Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four
As I have mentioned above, Animal Farm is a dystopian novel in the form of an animal story while Nineteen Eighty-Four is a fantasy set in the future. Though in different forms, they convey the same theme—the nightmarish society under absolute totalitarian rule. This can be reflected in the social structures in the two societies. In Animal Farm, before the former owner, Mr.Jones, is thwarted, animals suffer from a “miserable, laborious, and short life”under the cruel totalitarian rule of Mr.Jones.
We are born ,we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in
our bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to
the last atom of our strength; and the very instant that our usefulness
has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty. The life of
an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth.(Orwell 5)
Convinced by the belief that Man is the only real enemy they have and the root cause of hunger and overwork will be abolished forever if Man is removed from the scene, animals revolt and drive Mr. Jones out of the farm with the hope that ever since they can free themselves from endless toils, living a life with plenty of food and rest. However, things develop to a contrary direction. The commandment that all animals are equal is soon broken and classes are formed. In the new farm without Man, pigs, with their superior knowledge, naturally assume the leadership with Napoleon and Snowball as heads. Another important member of this group is a small fat pig named Squealer. He is the mouthpiece of the ruling class, capable of turning black into white. Regardless of the rules that all animals should work according to their capacity and all animals are equal, the pigs don't actually work, but just direct and supervise others. Besides the ruling class, there are nine dogs, who are taken away from their mothers as soon as they wean, and nurtured by Napoleon. They follow Napoleon as bodyguards, threatening and biting anyone who dares to hold a different opinion from Napoleon or show a little trace of disrespect. The rest, the sheep, hens, ducks, horses, donkeys, are proles who actually work from day to night. They never doubt if their life has really become much better than before because they often “have great difficulty in thinking anything out for themselves, but having once accepted the pigs as their teacher they absorbed everything that they are told(Orwell 13).” In fact, their life even deteriorates after the revolt, and deteriorates further after Napoleon wins in the power struggle with Snowball and control the farm solely. They work harder and longer while eating less and worse than before. Besides, the shadow of execution always lingers over their heads. If they have any objections or suggestions unpalatable to Napoleon, they will be killed as a “traitor”. On the other hand, however, the life of pigs indeed improves a lot. They reserve themselves the privileges of not working, drinking milk, wearing clothes, sleeping in bed and killing other animals. In the end, the renamed Animal Farm becomes another Manor Farm, a much worse one under the tyranny of pig-shaped man.