What I find most disturbing about Orwell's vision is totalitarian power, how one person or "being" can have so much control over everyone else. .
In Animal Farm, Napoleon takes over. He treats the other animals appallingly, depriving them of food and making them work really hard while he and his group of pigs live a life of luxury.
Propaganda is a hugely important part of Animal Farm. Napoleon sneakily uses this means to dodge revolt from the rest of the animals. Squealer tells the animals that "Comrades! You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually dislike milk and apples. Our sole object in taking these things is to preserve our health. Milk and apples contain substances absolutely necessary to the well being of a pig." He also claims that the pigs actually have to work much harder than the rest of the animals. As the pigs are much cleverer and more cunning than the other animals, the animals believe what Squealer says. .
Most of the animals are illiterate and cannot even learn the first few words of the alphabet, so they are easy prey for the pigs. Squealer always has an excuse for everything that the animals put up against him, and the animals are mainly too scared to question him or answer back.
In 1984, Big Brother also has total power. There are basically three classes of society, the Inner Party, the Outer Party and the proles. Big Brother is only interested in the welfare of the Inner Party. He does not care for the proles or what happens to them. The proles are the workers, not clever enough to be members of the Party. They live happy enough lives only because they do not realise how bad their lives really are. Big Brother by devious means again using propaganda makes them think they are happy. They are unimportant and Big Brother does not bother with them because he knows they will never rebel.
