1984, a book by George Orwell, offers an alternative reality of what the future could have been. The concept of a totalitarian society is a distant, if not long dead, ideal. In the past, totalitarianism was not just an ideal but a real and living threat to people in the late 1940s. Totalitarian governments would go to terrible lengths to maintain and increase their power. In George Orwell's novels 1984 and Ayn Rand's Anthem, propaganda, class distinction, and naivety are explored in fictional societies. The stories of Orwell and Rand are based on dystopias and the individuals in these societies who dare to stand out. George Orwell uses Winston Smith, the shyly rebellious protagonist; The Party, the government in power; and Big Brother, the face of The Party; and Ayn Rand uses martyrdom, self-sacrifice; Naming, a process using words and numbers as a means of identification; and collectivism, everyone is the same and refers to themselves as us, to illustrate how dangerous a naive working class, propaganda and unrecognized class distinction can be in a society. A naive working class is dangerous because the inability or refusal of the authority in question condemns the working class to suffer the full extent of oppression from the ruling class. In 1984, Winston Smith was a minor member of the ruling party. He hates the totalitarian control and forced repression that characterize his government. Modern tyrannies have aimed to deprive man of this sense of responsibility and to gradually eliminate all his feelings. The working class of Oceania is ignorant and, as such, is blindly loyal to the government. Residences in Oceania give off terrible odors. Orwell describes...... middle of paper ...... with their own thoughts. Works Cited Orwell, George. _!984_. Austin: Harcourt & Brace, 1977. Rand, Ayn. _Anthem_. 100th ed. New York: New American Library, 1995.Read, Herbert and Harold Bloom. “1984.” Bloom's Modern Critical Views: George Orwell;. Bloom's Modern Critical Views. "March 23, 2005". EBSCO host. p25-27, 15p. EBSCO host. "April 3, 2011". http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=6982cc7c-d6f5-41a1-9965-e42d8024e481%40sessionmgr114&vid=1&hid=106&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=lfh&AN=164930 82. Bloom, Harold. "Introduction." Modern Critical Interpretations of Bloom: 1984. Modern Critical Interpretations of Bloom. "March 28, 2005". EBSCO host. 1987, p1-7, 7p. EBSCO host. "April 3, 2011". http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=2ed5dd42-8ef8-4b0f-b5c2-4f1ec4f9b214%40sessionmgr104&vid=1&hid=106&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=lfh&AN=16524927.