What Are The Similarities Between Anthem And Animal Farm

When thinking of a reformed society, one does not usually think of oppression and conformity. The leaders of these corrupt societies, created by Ayn Rand and George Orwell, attempt to maintain control and promote conformity to the point at which subjects are being literally and figuratively beaten into obedience. In Anthem and Animal Farm, both authors explore ideas such as control by fear, propaganda, and the power of individuality.

Manipulation and propaganda are used to promote conformity. The society in Anthem taught men and women from birth that “it is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see” (17). The narrator believed his actions were sins because they went against his society’s ideals. In Animal Farm, Squealer justified the pigs’ hoarding of the milk and apples by claiming the pigs did not even like the milk and apples, but they were essential to the pigs’ superior brains (36). The animals were manipulated into believing that if the pigs did not have all of the precious milk and apples, their previous oppressor Jones would return. Manipulation and

propaganda proved to be important tools in order to gain and keep control of the people and/or animals.
Oppressive leaders also publicly punish wrongdoers to scare their subjects into obedience.

The narrator in Anthem wrote of a man being “burned alive in the square of the city” for speaking the “Unspeakable Word” (49). He admitted the scene “haunts [him], and follows [him], and gives [him] no rest” (50). This punishment was a warning to the public from the authorities that if they stepped one foot out of line, severe punishment would be in store for them. The animals in Animal Farm were forced into confessing to crimes they did not commit and were executed in front of the entire population of the farm until “there was a pile of corpses lying before Napoleon’s feet” (84). From then on, the farm had an scared and uneasy atmosphere and the animals obeyed all of Napoleon’s commands. Fear was an immoral, albeit effective, way to maintain control in these

societies.
Even though these satirical novels have similarities, there are some themes that seem to have more prevalence in one novel than the other. Through Anthem, Ayn Rand strongly got across the theme that individuality will always shine through the shadows of collectivism. Once the narrator had escaped the cruel society, he educated himself with books he found in an abandoned house, and “understood why the best in [him] had been [his] sins and transgressions; and why [he] had never felt guilt in [his] sins” (98). He realized that his individuality had always been there, but he had always pushed it down in fear of persecution. Once he was free, he allowed his uniqueness to shine through his previous guilt. George Orwell got across in Animal Farm that all aspects of society are strictly controlled under a corrupt leader. Napoleon abolished all organized debates and proclaimed that the animals were to now “assemble on Sunday mornings to salute the flag, sing Beasts of England, and receive their orders for the week” (54). He also controlled the jobs, the work hours and the rations of all of the animals in the farm. The two novels share some common themes, but individuality and complete control over society are predominant in only one of the novels.
All over the world, leaders have strived to create a perfect, equal society. More likely than not, those same leaders ended up oppressing their subjects and maintaining control through propaganda, manipulation, and fear. Anthem and Animal Farm displayed the desperate hopes of corrupt leaders to maintain their “perfect” societies. However, the one thing these leaders could not control was the subjects’ individuality and undying want for improvement. In the end, the reformers always become the reformed.