Comparing stories: 1984 and A Tale of Two Cities?
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You could also talk about mass hysteria (though this might include more psycyhology related stuff than you might like) and how in both novels, horrific crimes against many individuals are commited out of mass fear, and how individuals take power and use that power by controlling the collective fear of people in their society.
Both books are also commentary on big events in the same basic timeline of the writer. Dickens was commenting on the horrors of the French Revolution, especially how terrifying it seemed to the rest of Europe. Orwell was responding to WWII, and the threat of totalitarian government taking over all of Europe (and the world), mainly Communism/Dictatorship.
Another approach could be discussing how the bougeois mentality of ToTC can eventually become a 1984 distopia.
A third choice would be to discuss why each main character either wants to maintain societal wills or break away from them; why are they successful/not successful.
Last, what is the role of the individual in each society. Why is the individual valued/not valued.
