Major Works

Animal Farm is one of George Orwell's most well known pieces. The scene is set with barnyard animals being oppressed by the farmers and are inspired by a pig named Old Major to rebel against them. After successfully driving out the farmers, a pig named Napoleon becomes the leader and then becomes a tyrant himself. He trains a group of dogs to be his army and oppresses the other animals ordering the deaths of any who will oppose him. Ultimately, this makes the animals' revolution fruitless because they are no better if not worse off than they were before. This is comparable to the Soviet Union while governed by Joseph Stalin.
Nineteen Eighty-Four is another one of George Orwell's major works that illustrates the dangers of a totalitarian government. The story takes place in London, which is part of a superpower state called Oceania ruled by a totalitarian ruler called Big Brother. The people are kept in line with the slogan "Big Brother is watching" and anyone who is found to be thinking about opposition is subject to arrest. The ministry of truth is the government agency in charge of altering historical records and claiming that the world's present state is how it has always been. No one is entitled to think any differently or they could be arrested by the thought police.

Works Cited

Animal Farm. Dir. John Stephenson. Perf. Kelsey Grammer, Ian Holm, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Julia Ormond, Pete Postlethwaite, Paul Scofield, Patrick Stewart, Peter Ustinov. 1999. Halmark Home Entertainment, 1999. DVD.

Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1949. Print.