“It was not the machine, but what one did with the machine, that was the meaning or the message” 

McLuhan’s essays on technology and the wave of consumerist capitalism ‘The Medium is the Message’ essentially argue that  the way you choose to talk to someone—the tool or medium you use—influences how that person receives your message. The important thing about media is not the messages they carry but the way the medium itself affects human consciousness and society at large, for example owning a TV is more significant than anything we watch on it. McLuhan’s ideas were interesting, especially considering modern forms of advertisement that rely on captivating shortening attention spans through social media noise. 

This ties into my dissertation in suggesting that while the content of Nursery Rhyme is essentially children’s nonsense, the value comes in how Orwell chooses to use the medium of rhyme as a familiar concept for readers, and hence use the medium to channel a completely separate political message. The cover being very reminiscent of the themes of 1984 here is pure coincidence!