George Orwell wrote Animal Farm. It was about a group of animals rebelling against the humans and eventually the pigs and take over. Napoleon, one of the pigs, becomes the leader. William Golding wrote Lord of the Flies. It was about a group of boys stranded on an island. Ralph becomes the leader and they try hard to survive until someone finds them. The plot, the characters, the symbols, as well as the reason for writing the two stories are very similar, but there are also some differences.
There was a caste system that developed as the two stories go on. In Animal Farm there were two leaders, Napoleon and Snowball. Both of them were pigs. In their society the pigs were the smartest and were first on the caste system. In Lord of the Flies there was one chief and it was Ralph. Ralph then appointed Jack to be the leader of the hunters. On the island the biguns, the big ones, were first on the caste system and the littluns, the little ones, were next.
In Animal Farm, at the beginning, Old Major had a dream. He dreamed that the animals would take over the world and the animals would have whatever they wanted. In Lord of the Flies, at first, the island was like paradise and all they were going to do was have fun until the adults go and rescue them. However, in both stories, they ended up in disaster. The pigs took control and the other animals were in worst condition than they were in when the humans were in control. The boys ended up disagreeing and killing each other.
In both stories only certain people worked, but the characters that worked were different. In Animal Farm it was the animals at the bottom of the caste system that worked and harvested whereas in Lord of the Flies it was the biguns, the people at the top of caste system, that worked and got food. There was a difference in the amount of food that the animals and the boys got. The animals in Animal Farm were given only enough food to survive by the humans, Mr. and Mrs. Jones. After the rebellion the pigs got more food, but the other animals got the same amount or even less than before. In Lord of the Flies the biguns and the littluns got as much food as they wanted.
In Animal Farm the animals built a windmill to try to generate electricity so that the stalls could warm in the winter. The windmill was built many times and destroyed many times by Snowball as it was said or in battles. When it was finally built and was not destroyed, it was used for milling corn, not for generating electricity. In Lord of the Flies everyone was suppose to build shelters for sleeping and so that they can be able to hide from storms. At first everyone did, then the littluns got bored and went off to eat and play. Ralph and Simon were left to build the rest of the shelters, which kept on falling down. The windmill and shelters were also symbols in both stories. The windmill represented, to the animals, a better life to which they strive for, but as the windmill was destroyed so was their dream. The shelters were a symbol for civilization. Like the windmill the shelters kept falling, which said that civilization would eventually break down.
In both stories the characters killed animals. In Animal Farm Napoleon and his dogs killed any animals that went against him. He also killed any animal that made “confessions” of having somehow communicated with Snowball. In Lord of the Flies Jack and his hunters killed pigs for meat.
In Animal Farm the animals hated the humans and were scared that they might take back the farm. Napoleon uses it as an excuse to keep the animals working. In Lord for the Flies the littluns are afraid of the “beast”. When Jack, Ralph, and Roger went and saw the beast, which is a parachute and a man, the biguns also got scared. Like Napoleon, Jack uses it to make the littluns believe he will help them and gains their trust, which will make them go to his tribe, by telling them that he and his hunters would hunt it.
In Animal Farm Napoleon didn’t like Snowball and sent his dogs to kill Snowball. It was never said in the story whether Snowball died or not. In Lord of the Flies Jack decided to start his own tribe and when Ralph went to get Piggy’s specs, that Jack had stole, Jack stabs Ralph, but Ralph survives. In Animal Farm the pigs become humans by the end. They start to wear clothes, sleep in beds, and drink alcohol. When they invite humans to the farm and play card with them, the rest of the animals saw everyone though a window. The animals couldn’t tell whether the pigs were pigs or humans. In Lord of the Flies most of the boys become savages. They start to wear paint, steal from each other, and kill each other.
Both stories were criticizing a historical philosophy. Animal Farm was written to criticize Marxism and Russian Revolution led by Stalin. Marx said the working class had to overthrow the ruling class in order to have a better life. That was exactly what happened in the Russian Revolution. It did not provide the working class with a better life. Stalin took over and he became the ruling class. George Orwell shows in Animal Farm that Marx was wrong. He believes if a revolution took place, then someone else would take control. For example in Animal Farm the pigs took over. Lord of the Flies was written to criticize Rosseau’s philosophy. He said that society causes a person to be evil and he believed that if a child was separated from the society and given freedom, then that child would be truly happy and the evil would no longer be exist.
William Golding demonstrates in Lord of the Flies that Rosseau is wrong. He believes that evil is in an individual and it has nothing to do with society. He shows in the story that evil comes from an individual and not from the society by putting the little boys on an island. After a while the boys turn on each other and there is corruption.
Both stories have leaders and a caste system. Both has a hopeful beginning and has a disastrous ending. The pigs killed animals and so did the boys. They both had enemies. In the end one leader turns and kills on the other. The pigs become humans and the little boys become savages. The two stories were also criticizing someone’s philosophy.
In Animal Farm the characters of lower class worked, whereas in Lord of the Flies characters of higher class worked. The animals had insufficient food, unlike the boys who had an abundance of food. Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies have many similarities, but only a couple of little differences.
