Throughout history, people searched for the best way to structure society and organize the government. Individuals such as philosophers and authors theorize the effects of these possible societies, letting readers analyze the likely outcomes and determine the positive and negative effects. After considerable amounts of trial and error, it can be assumed that there is no such thing as an ideal or perfect society, but successful societies are proven to be composed of representation, enforcement of the laws, and personal freedoms, as shown in the novels Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, and 1984. George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, shows that the key to a successful society is representation. Orwell uses farm animals as an extensive allegory to the Russian Revolution, a real-life event that resulted in a communist and totalitarian state, in which the government has control over every aspect of society. The animals experience a decrease in their quality of life once the absolute dictatorship of Napoleon was implemented, and they never agreed to partake in the forced labor and building projects he required. The animals realize, “This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half” (Animal Farm 59). This, in addition to the working reforms created by Joseph Stalin, is factual evidence that having an exhausted working class is not productive and only leads to a detestation for the government, who continue to make life miserable without consent of the people. Although there was originally a plan of peace and equality in Animal Farm, by the end of the novel all laws are replaced with just one. It states, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” (Animal Farm 134). This law was not created via a vote, but rather by the pigs who use it for their own greedy purposes. It was due to the animals’ lack of say in how the farm was run and defiance in their treatment by Mr. Jones that led to the revolution in the first place. The ending of the novel even implies that the farm has come back full circle into another dictatorship without representation and that the cycle will repeat. Animal Farm has a lack of including diverse animals in government and the editing of their laws, but the pigs did succeed in strictly enforcing the them and upholding a resilient leadership, unlike William Golding’s fictional island in Lord of the Flies. William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, shows that a society must have enforcement of the laws in order to succeed. After crash-landing on an uncharted island, a group of British schoolboys’ first action is to establish order and control. Ralph, one of the oldest and strongest boys on the island, is quickly chosen to guide the boys to rescue and establishes rules. He instructs the boys, “We’ve got to have special people looking after the fire… and another thing. We ought to have more rules. Where the conch is, that’s a meeting. The same up here as down there” (Golding 42). Ralph is elected to be the leader of the schoolboys, but he does not enforce the laws effectively or create
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However, these dystopian futures or alternative universes provide evidence that successful societies are composed of representation, enforcement of the laws, and personal freedoms. George Orwell’s Animal Farm explains that when civilians do not get representation, social upheaval and huge reforms are the outcome, which correspondingly occurred in the Russian Revolution. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies proves that without a strong enforcement of the rules by the government, society will fall apart and revert back to its prehistoric tribal ways. Finally, George Orwell’s 1984 shows that less government influence in controlling people’s daily lives and more basic freedoms, such as the right to think, speak, and have privacy, leads to an overall more satisfied population. All of these traits have been adopted before in an attempt to make the majority of a given population content. However, it is impossible to create the perfect society because there will always be someone who is dissatisfied with the system and try to change it, contributing to history’s legacy and cycle of the rise and fall of
However, these dystopian futures or alternative universes provide evidence that successful societies are composed of representation, enforcement of the laws, and personal freedoms. George Orwell’s Animal Farm explains that when civilians do not get representation, social upheaval and huge reforms are the outcome, which correspondingly occurred in the Russian Revolution. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies proves that without a strong enforcement of the rules by the government, society will fall apart and revert back to its prehistoric tribal ways. Finally, George Orwell’s 1984 shows that less government influence in controlling people’s daily lives and more basic freedoms, such as the right to think, speak, and have privacy, leads to an overall more satisfied population. All of these traits have been adopted before in an attempt to make the majority of a given population content. However, it is impossible to create the perfect society because there will always be someone who is dissatisfied with the system and try to change it, contributing to history’s legacy and cycle of the rise and fall of