Similarities Between 1984 And The Second Coming

For thousands of years, different types of governments have been put to the test. Some have succeeded for various amounts of time, while others have failed to sustain stable societies. The twentieth century contained a variety of totalitarian governments such as Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union. In the hands of leaders like these men, millions of innocent people have suffered. George Orwell’s 1984 and W.B. Yeats’s “The Second Coming” are two works of literature written with the sole purpose of warning society about the danger of oppressive dictatorships. Both authors create hypothetical scenarios involving the cruelty of all-powerful tyrants. In their respective works of literature, Orwell and Yeats warn readers of a new and …show more content…
In the novel, Orwell portrays Winston as a brave man who is more “human” than the vast majority of people around him. He is able to feel true emotion, which is something that the Party condemns. By having a relationship with Julia, keeping a diary, and committing thoughtcrime, Winston tenaciously rebels against the Party. He puts all of his faith in O’Brien, who eventually betrays Winston and Julia on behalf of the Party. Through systematic torture and interrogation, O’Brien gradually breaks Winston down, forcing him to understand and believe the principles of the Party. At this point, Orwell characterizes Winston as weak, barely a shell of a human being. O’Brien acrimoniously ridicules him, describing him as “a bag of filth” (343). While he is still the protagonist, Winston is shown as a pitiful victim rather than the hero of the story. Orwell shows the power tyrants like Big Brother possess and the extent to which it can be used against an individual. As strong and courageous as Winston once was when battling the ideals of the Party, he is clearly no match for Big Brother. Orwell shows how dangerous it is for a form of authority like the Party to have absolute power by showing tremendous change in Winston throughout the course of the novel. Rather than simply warning readers alone, Orwell …show more content…
Yeats that, similarly to 1984, is written as a warning about the dangers of totalitarianism. The poem discusses a new “savior” of sorts, but not one that benefits society. This new form of power is threatening, and it is characterized as a “rough beast” (21). Yeats employs symbolism to show distress in the poem. He describes this alarming situation as a “widening gyre” (1), meaning that the conflict of the poem is constantly growing and spreading. Yeats writes, “the falcon cannot hear the falconer” (2) to show that social order has been disrupted. The poem contains intimidating language, and Yeats does this to strike fear and curiosity into the reader. The nefarious savior described in the poem is portrayed as a sphinx, slowly approaching something with confidence, as if it has a predetermined goal. This makes the reader question the intentions of the new savior, and feel the unsettling effect of Yeats’s warning. The many comparisons made by W.B. Yeats allow the reader to visualize and comprehend the seriousness of this fictional situation. He wants society to be careful of blindly placing faith with a leader and to question authority as well as morality. Yeats writes that “the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity” (7-8). In the presence of an evil form of power, moralistic people give up hope while those with bad intentions become stronger and increasingly motivated. “The Second Coming”