http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Farm VS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984 Which book do you feel is most Relevant/important? Which one do you see more elements of in modern society? Which do you prefer? I am partial to Animal Farm. While cloaked in the cartoonish nature of using animals to make a point . . . I think that it makes quite a brutal point. Rocket River
Otto posted a graphic about how it's more Brave New World than 1984, and I'm inclined to agree. Animal Farm is a classic. I think 1984 is more fleshed out.
Yea. Brave New World was fascinating and relevent as well. Rocket River maybe I should have made the thread about influential books
Both are great. I voted "too close to call," although I'd probably pick 1984 if I wasn't allowed that choice.
That Brave New World vs. 1984 graphic shows how absolutely spot-on Huxley was - though the combination of computerized record-keeping and constant surveillance points to Orwell's prescience as well.
Animal Farm is an allegory and satire of the Russian government including the last Czars, Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky. It's relevant for its historical value.
They're both books for middle schoolers but 1984 with the perpetual war stuff with Eurasia/Eastasia being particularly apt. We're in a war in Afghanistan. Then we declare victory leave Afghanistan and we're in Iraq. Then we declare war back on and we're back in Afghanistan. Iraq is the main threat, now Iran is the main threat. None of this is questioned. There's no tangible conditions for victory, and historical perspective on the conflicts is actively discouraged. It's not kosher to think how we ourselves armed Saddam in the past or how Iraq was actually the main containment for Iran in the region etc. We cant question why it's okay for Israel and Pakistan to have nukes but not Iran. Basically the public just accepts whoever we need to invade that particular year. Also the stuff about thoughtcrimes, that saying something un PC or even racist is a social crime even if you haven't broken any laws. The dumbing down of the huge middle section of society and sedation via p*rn, alcohol and popular diversions. The cult of personality around Goldstein and the current nemesis cult around Ahmadinejad and Kim in the media and by our government as living embodiments of everything that threatens our way of life to channel public hate and outrage into. Etc there's a lot of stuff. Well it's not valuable for historical purposes since Communism is dead and no one gives a **** about Stalinism (it's not like he's Hitler). But it's valuable because it warns how popular movements can be co-opted and moved into a different direction. In the US I think if you're interested in the Tea Party it might be a mindful parable on where you want your organization to go and where your leaders might take it. Really because both books are so broad and so simple there's always going to be plenty of parallels you're going to be able to make in most societies.