Orwell, George: 1903-1950

Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1949 - Thematic Parallels: Totalitarianism

Totalitarianism is a political system in which the state seeks to control every aspect of public and private life.
Orwell, George: Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1949
The novel is about the dangers of unchecked political power, the erosion of freedom, and the fragility of truth under authoritarian systems.
The following books are thematically simliar. They lend themselves well to being read in groups, compared with one another, or used to teach a similar topic over an extended period with a class:
- D’Aguiar, Fred: Feeding the Ghosts, 1997 , ~130pp
  This novel explores total control over individuals and resistance against authority.
  - Both novels confront how oppressive systems erase memory, truth, and individuality, and how small acts of remembering and storytelling resist that erasure.
- Kidd, Sue Monk: The Secret Life of Bees, 2002, ~300pp
  This novel deals with themes of oppression and societal control in a historical context.
  - Both novels explore oppression, truth, belonging, and resistance, but where Orwell delivers a bleak warning about totalitarianism’s ability to crush the human spirit, Kidd offers a more hopeful vision: that love and community can empower people to resist and heal.
- Rhue, Morton: The Wave, 1981, ~140pp
  This novel deals with the rise of fascist-like group dynamics in a school setting, illustrating how authoritarianism can develop in society.
  - Both works illustrate how easily people surrender freedom for order, how propaganda and peer pressure enforce control, and how fragile individuality is under authoritarian systems.
- Wyndham, John: The Day of the Triffids, 1951, ~270pp
  This novel involves societal collapse and the struggle for survival, touching on themes of control and chaos.
  - Both novels explore the collapse of civilization, the fragility of freedom, and how fear and power shape human society. Orwell focuses on political authoritarianism; Wyndham on environmental/scientific disaster—but both are cautionary tales about the consequences of human choices in the modern age.
List of general discussion questions on Totalitarianism (pdf)
List of essay prompts on Totalitarianism (pdf)