The Similarities Between 1984 By George Orwell

The Similarities Between 1984 and the USSR The book 1984 was written by George Orwell in 1949. This was during the time of the Cold War, when tensions were high between the United States the Soviet Union, and that served as the inspiration for the book because many of the situations in the book were common in the USSR (Hitchens XI). The book was set in England, but the name of the country is changed to Oceania in the book, in order to show that the threat of totalitarian danger is possible everywhere (Hitchens XI). Through George Orwell’s portrayal of situations that were common in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics when Joseph Stalin was in power, the book 1984 warns of the dangers of a totalitarian government. One of the many ways
The standard of living was low for average citizens and even worse for some. Meanwhile, the high members of society lived an extravagant life. In both societies, there were very distinct classes (Thatcher 4). Average citizens of Oceania lived in houses so run down that they were compared to chicken houses (Orwell 7). The furniture was in poor condition and the houses were usually too cold (Orwell 52). In the USSR ninety four percent of houses only had one room and most did not have electricity even though it was available (Trueman 2). Not only were the houses conditions horrible, but also the food supply and supply of necessary goods were lacking. In Oceania, citizens were often lacking food and there were rations on many foods (Orwell 52, 36). Chocolate was rationed and the ration constantly went down (Orwell 36). Supplies were limited and people were often missing necessary items, such as razor blades and shoelaces (Orwell 9). In the USSR there were similar situations. There were food shortages that caused many people to starve and the average citizen could not get many of the items they desired, but the high officials could get almost any item they wanted (Trueman 2, Mather 1). The average citizens lived a difficult life, but there were people that were treated even worse. In 1984 they were known as “Proles” and they lived like animals (Orwell 61). They did hard labor and lived in slums
The way both dictators rewrote their countries histories in ways that would suit them best is a very important similarity. Both Stalin and the leader of Oceania tried to portray themselves in a positive light. The leader of Oceania was only known as “Big Brother” and Stalin encouraged the name “Uncle Joe” (Orwell 16, Trueman 1). They went by these names in order to seem more welcoming and Stalin’s goal was to be portrayed as the father figure for Russians (Trueman 1). Both Stalin and Big Brother forced artists to glorify them and if they did not, the artists were punished (History.com Staff). Some artists in the USSR committed suicide because they did not want to portray Stalin as he wanted them to (Trueman 1). Both of the leaders wanted their citizens to view them in a positive manner and therefore, they often rewrote their country’s history. The USSR rewrote history to cover up past leader’s views if they conflicted with the current leaders (History.com Staff). Stalin ordered books to be written to make himself look better and leave out the bad about him (Mather 1). He even ordered a new book to be used in schools which was called “A Short History of the USSR” (Trueman 1). Oceania also used a textbook created by The Party (Orwell 62). It talked about the past, but the no one knew if any of it was true; they were just forced to believe it (Orwell 62). The past was altered so people had nothing to compare their