Humor and 1984: C.S. Lewis' Critique of Orwell's Novel
When C.S. Lewis compared Animal Farm with 1984 Lewis "found Animal Farm the more powerful of the two [novels]" because "wit and humor" are absent from 1984 while these crucial elements of storytelling "are employed with devastating effect" in Animal Farm ("Animal Farm," Notes on Novels, 2006). "The great sentence 'All animals are equal but some are more equal than others' bites deeper than the whole of 1984" Farm ("Animal Farm," Notes on Novels, 2006). However, this characterization of Orwell's 1984 as devoid of humor seems unfair, especially given the bitterly ironic satire of mechanized, modern life and the transparent ways that a corrupt government uses forced propaganda to mold the lives of its citizens. Consider the mandatory physical fitness sessions where the hero Winston Smith is forced to perform required calisthenics to a living television screen, in an 'aerobics from hell' scenario. "The instructress h
'And now let's see which of us can touch our toes!' she said enthusiastically. 1984 does not have a stated moral, like the phrase quoted by Lewis from Animal Farm that 'some animals are more equal than others. The scene is both funny and frightening because it allows the reader to parallel the instructress with bad physical education teachers he or she has experienced in his or her own life, although the fact the woman can 'see' Winston through his television is chilling. Julia voices her opposition aloud, but Winston seems like the only completely sane or normal person in the novel who can remember what life was like before the Party and misses it, so it is hard not to feel shocked by his eventual defeat by the power of the Party. Winston is a recognizable human being and a complex character, not an animal or an allegorical figure so the reader identifies with him completely as the novel's heroic protagonist. ' Instead, essentially the same thing is said when O'Brien speaks about how the Party will use its power over other human beings: "Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing" (Part III, Chapter 3). This does not necessarily mean, however, that 1984 is a better novel; only that it is harder to laugh when the 'truth' seems closer to home, as the lies of the government in the novel parallel the lies of governments today. Also, the secret nursery rhyme password used by Winston, Julia, and O'Brian has a bitter humor: "The fragment of rhyme that Mr. The perverted school lesson of 2+2=5 might seem like devastating parody of the stupidity and falseness of government lies in the media, but because Winston is physically and psychologically compelled to believe these lies, it is hard for the reader to chuckle. One-two! One- two!'" (Part I, Chapter 3). The reason that 1984 may not have seemed funny to Lewis and to many readers is because its ending is so tragic. O'Brien's discussion is less memorable than the Animal Farm phrase but his ravings and sense of self-confidence seem more realistic and terrifying. The Party will use lies about equality and doublespeak because it can, not because it is moral. Winston is the only person the reader can hear thinking because Orwell chooses to use of a third person limited point of view.
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