1984 Blog

    At the end of chapter 8, we read the words "Ignorance is Strength." This quote is one from Big Brother, essentially saying that the less people know, the stronger the Party will be. This kind of thinking is not only present in this book, but also in the book Animal Farm , in the case with the sheep.     In Animal Farm , the sheep are the dumbest animals, only repeating whatever the pigs say. In the beginning, the first and most impactful rule is  “Four legs good, two legs bad.” This is in reference to the human that they overthrew, and is used throughout the first act as not only a rule, but a motto. Everything they do and say revolves around that rule. However, as the book progresses, the pigs gain more and more power, and begin to change the rules slightly, much like the Party changes the history books. By the end of book, the phrase has turned into "Four legs good, two legs better." The phrase has completely turned on its head, and it no longer means...

      In these chapters, there is shown to be a lot of power over everyone from the Party and Big Brother. They are constantly controlling everyone below them, and it is obvious within the first few chapters that the Party is the villain, the evil entity. while this didn't really remind me of anything in the real world, it reminded me in a way to the world of the Hunger Games. In that series, there are constantly people watching you, and it is shown that there are cameras almost everywhere, much like the telescreens in 1984. In addition, the presence of a single high power (The Capital and the Party) is another similarity that they share.  Unfortunately, there are also many differences, and the similarities stop about there, but it is notable that both seem to share the theme of being watched by and overseeing power.