Oligarchies and despotic rulers in 'We', 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' and 'Facial justice'

Abstract

This dissertation aims to discuss how Yevgeny Zamyatin, George Orwell and Leslie Poles Harley portray despotic rulers and their oligarchies in their respective dystopian novels: We, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Facial Justice. In each and every novel, the authors direct their criticism at a particular contemporary government while showing their fears at the way in which the political and social trends take course. In particular, Zamyatin criticizes the Soviet Communist regime under Vladimir Lenin; Orwell condemns Joseph Stalin's rule in Russia and his influence on other European countries; Hartley criticizes the internal domestic policy in the United Kingdom under the administrations of Clement Attlee and Winston Churchill. Each chapter seeks to find a correlation between the authors' earlier personal experience and the dystopian novel that they have written. Zamyatin was deeply impacted and felt betrayed by the Communist regime which he previously was part of. We depicts life after the establishment of a callous totalitarian government which betrays its supporters and manipulates their thoughts and lives. Orwell's novel is the product of his experience as a fighter in the Spanish civil war on the Republican side. Orwell could not comprehend Stalin's persistence to annihilate the centre left supporters. This experience and his intuition on Stalin's administration in Russia enabled him to write Nineteen Eighty-Four as a warning against the political tendencies of Soviet Russia. On the other hand, Facial Justice illustrates Hartley's apprehension in post World War II England. Hartley illustrates how the government is still manipulating their citizens, however, without violence. Hartley also believes that the post World War II governments are indulging their citizens with various perks such as free health care and housing and so they are encouraging lethargy which is resulting in a decline of traditional morals and values.