“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” is a quote from John Dalberg-Acton, an otherwise unremarkable politician. This quote has proven to be all-encompassing in both literature and history. Over the tens of thousands of years of human history, this quote has been proven time and time again, in the words of George Santayana, and later Winston Churchill: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." . Although the two authors behind Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies, George Orwell and William Golding, both had separate intentions in the book, they both stand as important allegories and cautionary tales on many preeminent human themes. Although both of these tales use a microcosm, where Animal Farm is, of course, animals, and Lord of the Flies is with English children, both contain the themes of tyranny, power, corruption, propaganda, dictatorship, violence and censorship. While both address a specific point in human history, the early 20th century, both of these allegories can be seen as a microcosmic for any revolution and resulting power vacuum. Both of these fables possess the ability to transcend the time in which they were written and serve as powerful tools to warn of the past, present, future, and the inherent evils possessed within humanity. These two texts are the synecdoche of humanity and the inherent flaws of mankind. These tales remain applicable due to their ubiquitous nature, to quote writer Don Watson “read Animal Farm and be in no doubt: you are in it, if only as a sheep.” Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies were written in 1944 and 1953 respectively, in his essay, Fable, William Golding, references Animal Farm several times, and it served in part as the inspiration for Lord of the Flies. Although both of these authors had different intentions in writing their respective texts, Golding was a capitalist and Orwell was a socialist. However, both of these texts get to the core of humanity and what the purpose of literature is. Literature serves as an exploration of human themes, in essence, as a study of humanity's position. Both of these texts inform us about the tendencies of humanity. These two texts are both valuable for their underlying themes and morals. Both make the reader acutely aware of the failures and struggles inherent in human beings' ability to govern themselves. In the period preceding the writing of the texts, the Second World War, humanity fell into a deep depression of moral values, which resulted in the killing of 70-85 million people. For both of these authors, the beginning of the 20th century, which they witnessed, significantly changed their vision of the world. Orwell was born in the furthest corner of colonialism in Burma, and as such developed an aversion to colonialism and nationalism, and this is evident in his critical writings. Orwell moved to England and ended up fighting in the Spanish Civil War in an attempt to fight fascism. In the same way that Orwell developed his dislike of fascism, Golding hated war and senseless violence. In 1940, at the start of World War II, Golding joined the Royal Navy and fought on destroyers against the Nazis. Both writers' experience was incorporated into their texts, both by osmosis from their inner selves, and through design. Golding elaboratedhumanity's internal inclinations towards violence and used his experience as a teacher and sailor as a connection to the real world and his writings. Orwell wrote to express the problems with the USSR and how “communism” had turned into fascism, either intentionally or accidentally, both of which have the ability to transcend the time in which they were written. I personally believe that it is a combination of design and happy coincidence that novels are so valuable as far as the 21st century is concerned. Since both of these novels get to the core of humanity, it is natural for them to summarize and expose the flaws of all humanity. A further similarity between these two texts is the ending presented. In Lord of the Flies, the ending has school children standing on the beach, crying, after their society has collapsed, resulting in two deaths, and they have potentially been saved or are potentially just in another kind of danger. In Animal Farm the novel ends with the pigs dining with the humans, and the evocative lines, “the creatures looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and again from pig to man: but already it was impossible to tell which This is because, fundamentally, both of these novels are about a young and promising society becoming decrepit, with all their ideals becoming tools through which society is oppressed. Both in our world today and in the world of the past we see many examples of where events they emerged similarly to Animal Farm or Lord of the Flies or both. There are many moments in which small events or large historical movements have reminded us of these two texts. A simultaneous and real example of Animal Farm could be North Korea .After World War II, Japan had to return Korea after nearly 40 years of tyranny over the Korean people. The Korean peninsula was divided in half, with the communist USSR (which Orwell wrote about in Animal Farm) taking over. provisional control of the northern half and the United States taking temporary control of the southern half. The USSR quickly began to transform what had become North Korea into a communist country. The USSR imposed Kim Il-sung as the leader of the country, Kim Il-sung was established as a famous, very powerful leader of the Korean resistance, however, this is doubted by historians who think he was at best a minor figure in the Korean Resistance. So here we have the already corrupt country of the USSR planting the poisoned seed of a government in a “brand new” country. In this North Korean example, we can see the direct path from the Russian Revolution that Orwell wrote about to the macrocosm of what happens when a supposedly communist government is imposed. In North Korea there are many similarities between the two texts and real life. Even if the reason is different, in both Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies a new society is being created. There is a similar theme in the USSR (of course), in China after the civil war and in North Korea. All three of these countries followed similar paths, which was what Orwell predicted when he wrote Animal Farm. Now, while China appears to have some staying power, it appears that North Korea is on the path to the USSR, and therefore Animal Farm. The Soviet Union is now defunct and went through years of economic turmoil before collapsing in 1994. Likewise, North Korea has a struggling economy with a GDP per capita of just $1,700, which would place it 179th place in the world in this parameter. with unemployment at 25.4%. Furthermore, “40% of North Korea's population is malnourished and 1 in 5 children are stunted due to chronic malnutrition.” InGeorge Orwell's words “they were always cold and usually hungry”, even in a “communist” society like North Korea or Animal Farm, there are still leaders who live generously, and everyone else. While Kim Jong-Un is a 300-pound smoker who lives in a private resort that has been described by visitors as "the Ibiza of North Korea." Not to be too on the nose with the comparisons, but, at the conclusion of Orwell's book, Napoleon is described as "a mature boar of 24 stone (152kg)" and Squealer was "so fat that he could hardly see out of his eyes ". To summarize the North Korean experience, we are seeing a country born from the abominable seed of the USSR. North Korea has moved away from traditional communist views and towards the authoritarian dictatorship in which they live. If North Korea is Manor Farm , then we are the Foxwood farm, looking from the outside and relying only on second-hand reports of how North Korea is faring. It is evident that North Korea is now in deep economic decline, with a large group of bourgeoisie sitting on a throne with unlimited wealth created on the backs of the base of the self-proclaimed Democratic People's Republic of Korea not only the dark and total dictatorship guilty of having its ideals squandered due to greed and people who they are just looking for their own personal game. The USSR had an absolute ideal to which it adhered: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”. Western, capitalist countries also had a set of rigorous ideals. For example, the United States of America was founded on July 4, 1776, with the intent of creating a freer society. In fact, freedom was what originally pushed the pilgrims to cross the sea and settle in the New World, to escape religious persecution. The nascent United States also relaunched this message of freedom when, in 1791, it approved the Bill of Rights, the ten amendments to the constitution which gave all citizens certain universal rights. The “land of the free and home of the brave” was originally very determined to maintain these absolute rights. Many today still refuse to even accept an argument against the 2nd Amendment, the right to bear arms. Although these rights are considered by many, they are still constantly violated. Of particular interest is Amendment 4, “protection from unreasonable searches and seizures,” due to recent events. The treatment of immigrants from south of the border demonstrated the United States' lack of value towards that particular person. Ice (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) predicted on at least one occasion that "up to 2 thousand families" would be affected in one day. This seems especially interesting when you consider the United States' steadfast dedication to the Second Amendment. Freedom, it seems, depends on which side you're on. Indeed, the synecdotal of the United States, the Statue of Liberty, has its pedestal bearing the inscription “Give me your weary, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the miserable refuse of your teeming shore. Send these homeless, storm-tossed to me, I will raise my lamp beside the golden door.” In light of recent events it is not difficult to think of a less appropriate inscription. The United States was also originally a very isolationist country, when in 1823 President Monroe and John Quincy Adams announced the "Monroe Doctrine" which stated that the United States and only the United States has dominion over events in the Western Hemisphere. While this is slightly interventionist, it was necessary for the United States to maintain order in South and Central America. However, in the early to mid-20th century,.