1984 Comparison with the Soviet Union

1984 Comparison With The Soviet Union

George Orwell, also known as Eric Arthur Blair, is the writer of 1984. Orwell wrote many other well-liked fictional and nonfiction books such as; Coming Up for Air,animal farm ,and many more. 1984 takes place in a dystopian society. According to Vocabulary.com a dystopian society is, “ imaginary society that is as dehumanizing and as unpleasant as possible”(Vocabulary.com). The unpleasant world in 1984 is about how the people are controlled by their government. The purpose of orwell writing this is to show what would happen if there is a totalitarian type of government still was in power. This similar event has happened in the our world. Specifically this is similar to The Soviet Union. They are similar by: torture, superstates, Big Brother, socialist, secret organization, and Famine.

Throughout history, the Soviet Union was known for its strong-arm tactics of using torture to get what they wanted out of a person. Either it was a confession or respect for their leader. This was all under the rules of Joseph Stalin; the leader of the Soviet Union. He made many rules for the people to follow. Going against these rules would mean torture;which most of the time means death for that person. According to Ekaterina Loushnikova,a radio and print journalist based in the city of Kirov, states that, “If you don’t sign a confession, we’ll go on beating you. We’ll leave your head and right hand alone, but we’ll turn the rest of you into a shapeless bloody lump of meat”.(Lushnikova). The forced them to do what they were told to do. Going to show that they would not stop until they get what they wanted to get. The words “ shapeless bloody lump of meat” shows they would use their power of torture to the max where they get to the point of killing.

The Soviet Use of torture parallels The Party’s method of torture. They both used torture to get what they wanted out of people. According to George Orwell in 1984 “you don’t have to take me to the place! Haven't I told you everything already? What it else is it you want to know? There’s nothing! I wouldn’t Confess nothing just tell me what it is and I’ll confess a straight off. Write it down and I’ll sign it- anything! Not room 101!”(Orwell). The way they were tortured was how life under the party. They would use their power to get their confession of love of their government ,and confessions of the crime they did. My evidence shows how they both used torture to get their message across of not to do crimes ,and to get the truth out of people.

Secondly the Soviet Union was known for its strong-arm tactics of using superstates.The meaning of superstates is to have a surplus of land. The Soviet Union had control of a lot of land. According to Robert Conquest,writer for britannica, wrote, “the U.S.S.R. covered some 8,650,000 square miles (22,400,000 square kilometres), seven times the area of India and two and one-half times that of the United States”( Conquest). He had a large part of land which makes the Soviet Union a super state. No matter if they took the lane or they found the land it makes it a super state.

The Soviet Use of superstate parallels The Party’s method of superstate. They would take control the lands that surround it. Making their populations and land grow. According to Frank Jacobs, a writer for big thinks, writes that, “Oceania covers the entire continents of America and Oceania and the British Isles, the main location for the novel, in which they are referred to as ‘Airstrip One’. Eurasia covers Europe and (more or less) the entire Soviet Union. Eastasia covers Japan, Korea, China and northern India”(Jacobs). Just like the Soviet Union they had a lot of land. The took over most of the world. Although they have different names, they follow the same rules. In life the area they have is about the same.

The Soviet Union is also known for having a powerful leader in charge. They have had a person in charge who is in total control of them. The Soviet Union leader at this time was Joseph Stalin. Joseph Stalin was a fearless leader. He brung terror and fear into the people of Russia (History). They wouldn't go against him, knowing that they would be killed. According to Library of Congress,Repression and terror: Stalin in control , states that, “ Millions of soviet people were sent off to camps or killed. After a while of this the soviet people started to grow fearful of stalin no longer wanting to go against him”(Library of Congress). For all of the stuff he did they began to fear him. Which eventually kept him in office for so long. They feared to go again him knowing that they could die.

The Soviet Union and 1984 leaders had much in common. They both wanted power and respect. Big Brother was the keeper of everything. Even though he was never seen. He still influenced others.“Big Brother is infallible and all-powerful Every success every achievement every victory every scientific discovery all knowledge , all wisdom, all happiness, all virtue, are help to issue directly from his leadership and inspiration“(208). Even sometime it was physical pain they were put into in order to get them to show their loyalty. They thought of him as a god. They worship them just as they worship joseph stalin. Life under 1984 were the same. They both had a ruler whose rules were that were outrages.

The Soviet Union was broken down in categories. These catergy are making a major difference in the separation of the soviet people. Although they are still broken up they still follow the same leader. The encyclopedia states, “Soviet industry was owned and managed by the state, and agricultural land was divided into state farms, collective farms, and small, privately held plots” (encyclopedia). What this is say is that, they are put in these categories and have to follow those rules set with the land they have. Those rules are managed by Joseph.
Although the people of oceania may not know but they are indeed the same. They follow Big Brother rules. They have land that is broken up just like the Soviet Union,but they are enemies of each other. But they follow they same rules. There is no difference. Orwell states, “ Everywhere there is the same pyramid structure the same worship of semi divine leaders, the same economy exiting by and for continuous warfare. It follows that the three superstates not only cannot conquer one another ,but would gain no advantage by doing so”(orwell 197) They were the same. The states could never have actually have war with each other. Life under The Soviet Union and under 1984 were the same. They were broken up in “states” , but they were ultimately the same.

At first there was no one there to try and stop the group. The people were to scare ,until a group came together. There a group that was going again the Soviet union. They were trying to stop them from the horrible things they were doing to the innocent people. BBC states, “Islamic insurgent groups called the Mujahideen, were determined to fight against the Soviets”(BBC). Due to the mass killing that the soviet leader had ordered they were determined to take the Soviet Union down.

Oceania also had a group like this. The wanted to defeat the government for their abuse of power and what they had done to their land. This group was called the brotherhood. It was a very secretive group that not many people could join. If they would have gotten caught they would have been putting in jail. According to orwell “ we believe that there is some type of conspiracy,some kind of secret organization working against the party and that you are involved in it. We want want to join in and work for it. we are enemies of the party”(Orwell 170). There was a secret organization jus like in the Soviet Union, that goes against their leader. Life under both was hard they wanted to take their government down,but they knew what was at stake. Even though one was successful and the other one wasn't, the fact that they risked their lives to save others is a great thing. They had organization going against leader. Powerful leaders that had many followers.

Lastly the Soviet Union has had many problems with Famine under the control of Stalin. According to voabulary.com the definition of famine is, “A famine is usually caused by crop failure or disaster”(Vocabulary). The “disaster” coming from Stalin caused famine unto the Soviet people. He would take away from there family,because he wanted to as produce materials. Leaving the people with little things to survive.

The Soviet Union was parallel to 1984 by famine. They both had a shortage on food caused from the government. The government would give them so little things to survive not just on food, but on clothes,and toiletries. Life under both was hardly survivable. The History place explains,”By mid 1932, nearly 75 percent of the farms in the Ukraine had been forcibly collectivized. On Stalin's orders, mandatory quotas of foodstuffs to be shipped out to the Soviet Union were drastically increased in August, October and again in January 1933, until there was simply no food remaining to feed the people of the Ukraine”(history place). After all of there food was taken away by stalin, there was nothing left for them to have. They would have all of there had work from farming taken away from them. This is life under Oceania as well. They would have there food token away and given back so little. However they would be mind controlled thinking it was a lot, nut in stalin case he would just take it way not caring.

Although the Soviet Union and 1984 were different, they were more alike. This goes to show that life could be the same way. It could go back to the same way if we have the wrong people in charge of our government or another country's government. We can get affected in these same ways:torture, superstates, Big Brother,socialist ,and secret organization. As a whole 1984 has many parallels to the Soviet union.

Works Cited

1. Planning D-Day (April 2003) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin, Victor, www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/reps.html.
2. The History Place - World War II in Europe Timeline, www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/stalin.htm.
   “Comrade Stalin's Secret Prison.” OpenDemocracy, 13 Jan. 2015, www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/ekaterina-loushnikova/comrade-stalin’s-secret-prison.
3. Dewdney, John C., et al. “Soviet Union.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 20 Dec. 2018, www.britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union.
4. “Higher History - The End of the Cold War - Revision 2.” BBC News, BBC, www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zq63b9q/revision/2.
5. Jacobs, Frank. “A Map of George Orwell's ‘1984.’” Big Think, Big Think, 10 Dec. 2018, bigthink.com/strange-maps/66-the-world-in-george-orwells-1984.
6. Orwell, George. 1984. Propyla?en-Verl., 1984.
7. Republics.", "Union of Soviet Socialist. “Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.” The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Ed, Encyclopedia.com, 2019, www.encyclopedia.com/places/commonwealth-independent-states-and-baltic-nations/cis-and-baltic-political-geography/union-soviet-socialist-republics.
8. “Famine - Dictionary Definition.” Vocabulary.com, www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Famine.

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