George Orwell is perhaps one of the greatest authors of political ficition in our time. Two of his most famous and most popular novels are undoubtedly Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm. Orwell considered himself to be a socialist, but he was very critical of communism and especially totalitarianism. These two books explicitly express Orwell's political opinions, especially by means of satire. However, after reading and analyzing the two novels, it is clear to see that the two stories share an abundance of similarities and parallels. In a sense, these two great works are very much alike.
             One of the first things that a person may notice upon reading these two novels is the direct similarity of the characters. It is easy to see the similarities between Napoleon and Big Brother. In a way they are almost the exact character. The way they got into power was by overthrowing the previous regime. In the case of Napoleon, it was Mr. Jones, the farmer, and in the case of Big Brother, it was the capitalists. They also betrayed their closest comrades and allies by expelling them from the community. Napoleon betrayed his companion, Snowball, and nearly had him killed by the dogs in order to establish a totalitarian system, while Big Brother politically exiled Emmanuel Goldstein and labeled him as counterrevolutionary and underground leader of the brotherhood. The manner in which these two characters act politically is very similar. They use lies and propaganda to win over the population by means of constant brainwashing. Napoleon and Big Brother seem to lie about pretty much everything just to keep their population under control. Napoleon, throughout the novel lies about Snowball's actions and labels him as a traitor and cowherd, despite the fact that the animals know that it is not true. However, he relies on the animals' short memories and gradually makes Snowball look worse and worse as the story progresses....